Driven by environmental and parent activists, government agencies are paying increasing attention to the issue of PCBs in in-place caulk, particularly in school buildings. At the same time, there is insufficient consideration of the school maintenance workers and contractors who maintain and replace PCB caulk, even though they may constitute the school population with the highest exposures and risks. This commentary briefly assesses recent PCB-related developments at the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the New York State Education Department from an occupational health perspective.
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References
1.
Personal conversations between OSHA personnel and author, 2008, 2009, 2010.
2.
Protocol for Addressing Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in Caulking Materials in School Buildings (Albany, New York: New York State Education Department, Facilities Planning, June, 2007) www.emsc.nysed.gov/facplan/HealthSafety/PCBinCaulkProtocol-070615.html accessed April 9, 2010.
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HUD Guidelines for the Evaluation and Control of Lead-Based Paint Hazards in Housing (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, October 2007) www.hud.gov/offices/lead/lbp/hudguidelines/index.cfm accessed April 9, 2010.
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PCBs in Caulk in Older Buildings (Washington, DC: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) www.epa.gov/pcbsincaulk/index.htm, accessed April 9, 2010.
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Contractors Handling Caulk in PCBs During Renovation (Washington, DC: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, September, 2009) www.epa.gov/pcbsincaulk/caulkcontractors.pdf, accessed April 9, 2010.
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2, “Letter from Regional Administrator Alan Steinberg to Senator Charles Schumer,” July 26, 2007www.pcbinschools.org/EPA%20SHUMER.pdf, accessed April 9, 2010.
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Current Best Practices for PCBs in Caulk Fact Sheet: Interim Measures for Assessing Risk and Taking Action to Reduce Exposures (Washington, DC: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, October, 2009) www.epa.gov/pcbsincaulk/caulkinterim.pdf, accessed April 9, 2010.
