PCB Leaks Found in 3 More Schools

By MAYA POPE-CHAPPELL, AARON RUTKOFF and DEVLIN BARRETT

Three schools sharing a single Manhattan building joined the growing list of public schools where spot inspections have revealed elevated levels of polychlorinated byphenyls, or PCBs, leaking from aging light fixtures, the Environmental Protection Agency said Monday.

Interactive: Schools With PCB Risk

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See the location of each school with light fixtures containing PCBs and those schools where leakage has been confirmed. Click the sortable chart to review the schools.

As many as two-thirds of public schools in New York City use the same type of fluorescent lights known to contain PCBs, according to a document prepared by the city's Department of Education and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. To date, the EPA has examined a sampling of fixtures at just five school buildings during its weekly spot checks. All inspections so far have confirmed leakage of PCBs above the federal limit of 50 parts per million.

The chemicals, frequently used in building materials beginning in the 1950s, were banned in 1978 after they were linked to cancer and other health problems with reproductive and immune systems. According to the Department of Education list, 1,120 schools use the light fixtures linked to PCBs, although the total number of school buildings affected is lower because multiple schools often share a single building.

The EPA began inspecting schools on the list last month, part of a long-running dispute between the federal agency and city officials over the urgency of replacing the aging fixtures. The latest spot inspection found that twelve of fourteen samples taken from light fixtures at three Manhattan schools—P.S. 206, P.S. 37 and P.S. 112—were above the regulatory limit. All three schools are housed in the same building at 508 East 120 St.

Marge Feinberg, a spokeswoman for the city's Department of Education, said that school officials take "corrective action during the same weekend as the EPA inspection" by removing the part of light fixtures found to be leaking PCBs, known as the ballast. "In addition, we have asked all school custodians to do a visual inspection of all light fixtures in their school buildings," she said in an email. "Corrective action will be taken on all the leaking light ballasts."

But the EPA has pushed city officials to begin removing all the fixtures that contain PCBs, not just those where leakage has been confirmed. City officials argue that the chemicals pose no immediate threat to students or school staff. Both sides also disagree on how much it would cost to replace the lights, with the city estimate at $1 billion.

Write to Aaron Rutkoff at aaron.rutkoff@wsj.com and Devlin Barrett at devlin.barrett@wsj.com