On Tuesday evening, November 13, representatives of Con Edison, the NYS Department of Health (DOH), NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and the NYC Department of Education (DOE) appeared before an audience of MCSM and Isaac Newton parents concerning the toxic contaminants known to be buried beneath the school building and grounds. Also in attendance were representatives of the UFT (teachers’ union), the NYC Public Advocate’s office (Ms. Betsy Gotbaum, Public Advocate), and Mr. David Palmer from New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI). Earlier that day, the same Con Edison and NYS representatives had met with MCSM teachers and staff as well as the School Leadership Team to make the same presentation and answer questions.
Three different Con Edison representatives – Laura Mascuch, Horace Davis, and Elena Skorobogatov – spoke about the history of the MCSM building site, the role of manufactured gas in the 1800s and early 1900s, the types of chemicals and toxic substances associated with manufactured gas plants (MGP’s), and the testing and remediation planning that Con Edison has performed to date. They noted that Manhattan alone contains 24 MGP sites, with another 27 sites located in outer boroughs and Westchester County and over 200 Statewide. In 2002, Con Ed reached a voluntary agreement with the State of New York under which the company would work with State agencies to remediate (that is, clean up) each of these sites to the greatest extent possible. Depending on the site, remediation might mean full excavation and removal of the toxic wastes, or it might mean partial removal by excavation or other technologies combined with methods to cap, control, and monitor whatever remaining contaminated materials could not be removed.
In MCSM’s case, Con Edison first came to the school in 2002 to determine the extent of the problem in response to an agreement on cleaning up MGP sites they had reached with the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation and Department of Health. They found toxic waste material, mostly in the form of coal tar, beneath the school building and underneath the school grounds at the rear (FDR Drive side) and south sides of the building.
According to Con Edison, these wastes were found between six and forty-one feet below ground. No toxic materials were found at the surface where anyone could come in contact with them. Con Ed also determined that there were no unacceptable toxic chemicals in the air around the building or inside the school hallways. They conducted limited further tests in 2003 and 2004, in part to begin planning a remediation program to either remove or cap the toxic materials found in the ground beneath the school property. Their 2003 and 2004 studies were also intended to check sediments in the Harlem River as well as the boundaries of the MCSM property on behalf of the residences along Pleasant Avenue and 116th Street. They did indeed find coal tar related substances in the Harlem River sediments. A report of Con Edison’s findings can be found on the company’s website, or you can click here: Con Edison Remedial Investigation Report.
The three Con Edison representatives were followed by Mr. William Ottaway of the NY State DEC and Ms. Dawn Hettrick of the NYS DOH. DEC’s role is to oversee Con Edison’s plan and work on behalf of NY State citizens, while DOH’s role is to monitor the public health and safety issues related to chemical contaminants from MGP sites. Dr. Mark Wilkenfeld, a paid consultant to Con Edison, addressed parents' questions about health and medical concerns.
Con Edison and their consultants have not returned to the MCSM school site since 2004. They have been working on a draft report that proposes several different alternatives for remediating the toxic chemicals under the MCSM site. The company now states that they will need to pilot test one or more methods of removing the coal tar before deciding on their final remediation plan. Once that is approved by the State DEC and DOH and then by the public, they can go forward with actual remediation. They will also need to prepare a plan for ongoing monitoring and maintenance if any of the contaminants cannot be removed. Based on statements presented at the PTA meeting, it appears likely that the toxic contaminants will not be removed from MCSM’s building site for at least another 4-5 years, and quite possibly longer.
Parents and the PTA Executive Board are asking Con Edison and the DOE for updated and continuing environmental assessments of the school building and grounds, beginning as soon as possible. No further tests have been performed since 2004, despite substantial renovation and reconstruction in and around the school building and major excavation, foundation setting, and construction at the River East Plaza site directly across 116th Street. We as parents of MCSM and Isaac Newton students are demanding of the City that a new, updated environmental assessment take place in light of all this activity and that the results be made public. We are demanding further that regular, continuing assessments take place with public disclosure of results until such time as Con Ed has completed their site remediation work. These environmental assessments must continue on a scheduled basis in perpetuity if some toxic substances remain on the site and cannot be removed with damage or destruction of the school building.
Con Edison representatives stated publicly on Tuesday night their agreement that more interim testing and monitoring needs to be done at MCSM. As more definite statements of their plans and intentions become available, we will post updates on this site. Please check here periodically to learn more as this story develops. If you have any questions, you can post them as comments on this site or you can contact Steve Koss, PTA President, at mathman180@aol.com, Deirdre Rose, PTA Co-VP at birdrose12000@yahoo.com, or Don Redish, PTA Co-VP at dredish.mcsm@hotmail.com.
