According to George W. Ilchert, Esq., a partner with Lurie, Ilchert, Mac Donnell and Ryan, LLP (http://www.limrlaw.com), a personal injury law firm based in Manhattan, PCBs were used as an additive in caulking before they were made illegal in 1977. As a result, it has been determined that approximately 90 schools in the New York area contain illegal levels of this toxic chemical.
“PCBs have long been determined to be toxic and in German schools, where high levels of the chemicals were found in caulking, PCBs were also found in the bloodstream of students,” says Ilchert. “The more exposure the students had to the contaminated caulking, the more PCBs were found their blood.”
According to Ilchert, approximately 60% of all public schools and commercial buildings in the United States, constructed during a period of peak PCB use, contain dangerously high levels of the toxins.
“One of the schools that will be targeted for cleanup will be PS178,” says Ilchert. “This New York City School was the subject of a lawsuit filed against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in an effort to get the agency to push for cleanup of the school.”
In 2008, lab tests revealed that there were 111,000 PCB parts-per-million in that school’s caulking.Under government regulations, Ilchert says, it is illegal for PCB levels to be above 50 parts-per-million.
“Nine New York City schools were tested during that investigation and six were found to have levels above the legal limit,” says Ilchert. “The caulking at another 85 New York City schools was tested between April 2008 and September 2009 and also found to have illegal PCB levels.”
According to Ilchert, anyone that has been knowingly exposed to a toxin or injured on public or private property may be entitled to seek compensation for medical bills or other related expenses.
Established for more than 50 years, Lurie, Ilchert, Mac Donnell & Ryan LLP, A New York City Personal Injury Law Firm located at 475 Park Avenue South (32nd Street) New York, NY, 10016, specializes in representing victims of all types of accidents including construction and demolition, falls from ladders, scaffolds, and roofs, automobiles, trains, and buses, babies with cerebral palsy and other brain damage, general medical malpractice, saws and electrical tools without guards, and slip and fall cases. For more information, call 212-685-7417 or visit www.limrlaw.com.
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