March 7, 2006
Mayor James Ruberto City Hall 70 Allen Street Pittsfield MA 01201
Dear Mayor Ruberto,
The Allendale School Task Force, made up of a group of parents and teachers, met recently with the purpose of promoting an environmentally safe school for children and staff. We support the Task Force’s assertion that every child has the right to attend an environmentally safe school. We believe that as long as hazardous waste dumping continues at Hill 78, Building 71, and other adjacent areas near this school, it will be difficult to assure this right. We therefore urge the community to speak out to community leaders and politicians to stop the dumping and cap these sites. Our concerns are based on the following:
Even with the best of intentions, attempts to adequately monitor Allendale School and Hill 78 areas by GE and various Federal and State agencies have fallen short and have been subject to a variety of interpretations. Adherence to outdated protocols and miscommunications between agencies has further undermined the monitoring process.
There is an emerging body of scientific information pointing to airborne (both volatilized and suspended) PCB’s as being a significant form of exposure, something that was barely understood at the time the consent decree was signed. The U.S Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), clearly states that breathing air near hazardous waste sites is a potential route of exposure to humans.
The unique vulnerabilities of children also demand special emphasis. To quote the ATSDR’s 2003 Review of the GE Site – Hill 78 Area, “children are at greater risk than adults from certain kinds of exposure to hazardous substances emitted from waste sites. They are more likely exposed because they play outdoors and because they often bring food into contaminated areas. Because of their smaller stature, they might breathe dust, soil, and heavy vapors close to the ground.” We absolutely agree with this.
The ATSDR report also emphasizes that, “if the use of the site (e.g. residential development) or its physical characteristics were to change(e.g. excavations in areas of higher subsurface PCB levels), the conditions of institutional controls(e.g. fences) were to deteriorate, or remedial activities are not properly maintained by the environmental regulatory agencies and GE(e.g. the land fill cap), the site would likely pose a public health hazard in the future, depending on the extent to which opportunities for exposure increase”. The movement of large trucks over the site and the dumping of additional hazardous wastes at Hill 78 have clearly changed the physical characteristics of the site, and place the Allendale School children at potential health risk.
Finally, to again quote from this Review, “Most importantly, children depend completely on adults for risk identification and management decisions ….”
We applaud the initiative of the Allendale School Task Force, and we urge GE and EPA to consider safer alternatives than the consolidation of PCB wastes adjacent to an elementary school. We should not let these children and our community down.
Sincerely,
Siobhan McNally, M.D.
Richard Rosenfeld M.D.
Alan Kulberg, M.D.
Jacqueline Jones, M.D.
Diane Piraino, M.D.
Gary Shalan, M.D.
John Dallenbach, M.D.
Julia,Feudo, M.D.
Brian Dempsy, M.D.
Michael Fabrizio, M.D.
Vicki Smith, M.D
The above names represent all the practicing pediatricians in Pittsfield
Cc; Allendale School Task Force, City Council, State Representatives, State Senators, EPA, DPH, BHS Administration, Berkshire Eagle
The doctors sent a follow-up letter one week later.