Report Claims 14 Million Kids Could Be Exposed to Toxic PCBs at School
Across the country, tens of thousands of public schools could be contaminated with toxic polychlorinated biphenyls – a compound more commonly known as PCBs, which were used widely in the caulking of windows.
Credit: Anna Vignet for Reveal.
A Massachusetts senator released a report on Wednesday claiming that it would cost up to $52 billion to get rid of toxic PCBs from public schools across the country.
U.S. Senator Edward Markey’s report estimated that as many as 14 million students in the U.S. could be attending schools contaminated with toxic PCBs.
PCBs were banned in the late 1970s, but were used in light fixtures and caulking in schools built or renovated between 1950 and 1979. They’ve been listed as a known human carcinogen and have been tied to an assortment of health problems, such as delayed development and attention problems.