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Choose Sites Carefully
Many factors should be considered when contemplating a major construction project. No school wants to be part way into construction and challenged by national and state environmental groups that question the site's safety. And no board wants to put students at risk. The Healthy Schools Network, Inc. (HSN) has been assisting schools to safeguard the health of children in schools for more than a decade. The following case from its experience suggests prudent actions for boards to consider.
HSN recently learned that a Catholic school in New York state is being built next to a former Superfund-listed site that is contaminated with probable carcinogens and radioactive waste. A strong coalition of state and national environmental groups has taken up the issue and asked the diocese to put the project on hold until additional investigations are completed and identified hazards are cleaned up. The group says that students attending the new school will be at risk for developing illnesses, developmental disorders, and even cancer if site hazard testing and clean-up are not performed.
The site data made available indicate that the objection may be valid. For example, the state's environmental investigation revealed that in the 1950s an unknown quantity of flyash and radioactive slag were buried beneath the area. Soil sampling done by the U.S. Geologic Survey, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the site's owner in the 1980s indicated high levels of PAHs (polyaromatic hydrocarbons): pyrene, benzene, and anthracene. The Federal Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry says that the combination of PAHs and other chemicals has been known to cause cancer in some individuals and is linked to hyperactivity, memory problems, and learning disabilities. No new sampling was done to measure levels or locations of contaminants on the site. Finally, there was no groundwater or surface water monitoring.
HSN's involvement with the school site issue has been ongoing. After a 1997 HSN study showed that state agencies routinely failed to post notice of major project locations and to share site information, regulatory reforms in New York state required the posting of public notice of school construction. A national report of schools located near known toxic sites, issued by the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice in Falls Church, Virginia, may be helpful to any board considering construction.
School location is a multi-faceted issue that links to "smart growth" and "sprawl," the restoration and reuse of community or neighborhood infrastructure, and toxic hazards such as those cited above. For school board members, the questions are: What should the local board of education and the diocese do to increase awareness of these issues? What should the environmental community do? What should the state do to help schools reduce risks to children and teachers, and avoid the headaches of confrontation?
First, the local school board always should convene a facility committee. It always must look a gift horse in the mouth when accepting donated land. It can be a gift with special meaning, but it can also be a tax-deductible way for the donor to dispose of a toxic liability. The state should ensure that its agencies share site information; that any proposed school site is indeed healthy for kids; and that hazard testing is appropriate, complete, and current. The environmental community should be more alert to the state's public notices of school projects so it can intervene earlier, before the shovel appears on site.
What will happen next time? Will schools investigate the site thoroughly before accepting a gift or beginning construction? Do dioceses and religious communities have policies in place that include guidance to schools that are considering construction? We can all help protect children from toxic exposures and restore the earth that sustains us.
Claire L. Barnett, Executive Director, Healthy Schools Network, Inc., Albany, NY
www.healthyschools.org
From Issue-Gram, Vol. 12, No. 2, Spring 2002
Copyright NCEA
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National Catholic Educational Association
