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Effort to block PCB testing spurs outcry
By Scott McLennan
T he Educational Association of Worcester won a prolonged legal battle in June to conduct
testing for dangerous chemicals in
the city’s public schools, and the
public outcry that has followed
the Worcester School Committee’s
attempt to appeal that decision may
actually hasten the work needed to
address the situation.
Educators and members of the
community excoriated the School
Committee at its meeting on Oct.
6, describing as unconscionable the
committee’s decision to block testing
for polychlorinated biphenyls, or
PCBs, at Doherty and Burncoat high
schools despite the fact that officials
had known for years that the EAW
discovered extremely elevated levels
of PCBs in those buildings.
PCBs, which are labeled
probable carcinogens by the federal
Environmental Protection Agency,
have been linked to many illnesses.
Worcester school officials ignored
the EAW’s findings in 2009 and
refused to allow any further testing for
PCBs. In 2010, the union filed a charge
with the state Department of Labor
Relations.
The DLR’s decision was a long
time in coming. In June of this year,
a hearing officer issued a complaint
upholding the union’s position that it
had the right to test caulk at Burncoat
and Doherty for PCB levels; the
School Committee quickly appealed.
Mayor Joseph Petty, chair of
the committee, opposed voting on
the appeal and instead moved that
the board take up the issue during
an executive session at its Oct. 20
meeting.
During public comments on Oct.
6, former Worcester Mayor Raymond
Mariano criticized the committee for
not having moved more quickly to test
and to abate any problems related to
PCBs. Mariano galvanized the meeting
with his testimony that his wife, a
teacher at Burncoat, had told him
she was concerned about the number
of colleagues being diagnosed with
cancer. She ultimately developed cancer
herself.
“I put my trust in the Worcester
School Department,” Mariano
Richard Shea, a Worcester
resident, retired educator and MTA
Senate district coordinator, also blasted
the board, telling committee members
his wife had worked at Burncoat and
that family members attended school
there. He said it was time to “do the
Public school parents and former
students, as well as city business
owners, likewise urged the School
Committee to test for the presence of
PCBs in the schools.
EAW President Roger Nugent,
who testified at the School Committee
meeting, said later that officials
should have gauged and addressed the
problem long ago.
“The EAW discovered high levels
of PCBs in schools that we tested more
than six years ago. We want the city to
acknowledge the problem and to work
with us on resolving the problem,” he
said. “We should all be on the same
page when it comes to protecting the
health of students and educators.”
The International Agency for
Research on Cancer, like the EPA,
has declared that PCBs are probable
carcinogens. Animal studies have
shown that PCBs affect the immune,
reproductive, nervous and endocrine
systems.
Roger Nugent, president of the Educational Association of Worcester,
handed out information about PCBs and their health effects during a
recent meeting with union members at Doherty High School.
Photo by Scott McLennan
Please turn to Effort/Page 27
Worcester school officials
ignored the EAW’s findings
in 2009 and refused to
allow any further testing
for PCBs. In 2010, the
union filed a charge with
the state Department of
Labor Relations.
