KATV Channel 7 - The Spirit of Arkansas: Organization Wants Arkansas Schools Tested for Toxins

(KATV) It's been more than 30-years since PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls) was banned by Congress, but many old buildings are made with it and that means the walls of the school you're child may be returning to could have it.

Long term low levels of PCB exposure has been linked to heart disease, respiratory infections and cancer.

PCB is a toxic chemical that was widely used decades ago and there are on going efforts to eradicate it like asbestos.

Channel Seven wants to clarify, schools in the state have not turned up positive for it, but the Arkansas Community Organization (ACO) wants schools tested.

As students and faculty get ready to return for the beginning of the school year, the Arkansas Community Organization wants to warn them of what could potentially be lingering in the walls.

Marthella Johnson is a parent and works closely with ACO. She says, "If there are PCB's in the caulk used in those walls, our children are exposed."

According to the EPA, schools built between the 1950's and 1979 should be assumed to contain PCB. The Arkansas Community Organization wants them tested.

Johnson adds, "We looked at the school building dates and at the student population. We were absolutely shocked at the results."

ACO used public information records to confirm the age of schools in seven districts in Jefferson and Pulaski County. Without actually testing the schools Johnson says they found 154 buildings, 91 schools and more than 46,000 students and faculty are at potential risk of being contaminated by the chemical.

She adds, "The potential risk that our children face on a daily bases is a very serious one that needs to be fully recognized and dealt with."

Again, the ACO's survey only looked in two counties' to find schools built during the time PCB was used in building materials. It doesn't mean Arkansas schools have it, but the ACO wants the Arkansas Department of Education to begin testing.

Decades after being banned, PCBs are still found in paint, caulk and lighting fixtures of older buildings. It's also turned up in lakes, rivers and plants.

This year, dangerously high levels of PCB toxins were discovered in schools in the North Eastern U.S.