Worcester Teachers Protest Over Cancer-Causing PCBs

WORCESTER (CBS) - Some teachers in Worcester are picketing over elevated levels of a toxic substance in several school buildings.

According to the teachers' union, the powdery dust around some windows at the Doherty Memorial High School, Burncoat High School, North High School and the Mill Swan School contains PCBs.

The cancer-causing substance was used in window caulking between 1950 and 1970. Michael Sireci with the Education Association of Worcester says that building material is now breaking down, releasing dangerous levels of PCBs.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Bernice Corpuz reports

PCB levels at the four schools are thousands of times higher than the level deemed acceptable by the EPA, according to the teachers' union. And, they say, city officials are ignoring the problem.

"It's an issue of keeping their heads in the sand and not dealing with the fact that PCBs need to be remediated according to the EPA guidelines," Sireci told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Bernice Corpuz.

In a letter sent home to parents in January (pdf), Worcester Schools Superintendent Melinda Boone said the school system is following all EPA guidelines regarding window caulking that may contain PCBs.

She also said that windows at Burncoat and Doherty High Schools are slated to be replaced as part of a five-year capital improvement plan. North High School is being replaced by a new school in the fall.