$1.3M to remove toxic fluorescent lights in WA schools left on the table

They’ve called schools, sent letters, pushed surveys, presented at conferences and promoted educational videos.

For six years, state Department of Ecology officials have offered money to any Washington schools looking to remove and replace lights containing PCBs, banned chemicals that have the potential to seep into classrooms.

Just one school district has taken advantage of the funding. Only two other districts have tapped into a similar pool of money allocated by state education officials.

A renewed spotlight is on PCBs — and the funding to remove them — after a historic settlement in August between Monsanto, the chemical’s manufacturer, and over 200 students, parents and staff who say exposure at a Monroe school caused serious illnesses, including cancers. The exact amount was not disclosed, but the company said it set aside $618 million for the settlement and litigation costs.

It isn’t clear why most school districts haven’t participated in the cleanup programs. Unlike other health hazards, like lead and asbestos, testing for PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, isn’t required in Washington.

“We’re grateful that we got one school, but we’re available to help many more,” said Sean Smith, who coordinates Ecology’s product replacement program.

It’s possible, and even likely, many schools have already removed old light ballasts filled with PCBs, which were banned by the federal government in 1979, said Holly Davies, a toxicologist at the state Department of Health.

For instance, Seattle Public Schools, the state’s largest district, no longer has PCB-containing lights in its schools, a district maintenance official said recently.

But there’s no way to know for sure if every district has done the same. The state hasn’t taken an inventory of all the remaining light fixtures, which at some point were likely used in more than 2,000 school buildings across the state.

At Sky Valley Education Center, the Monroe School District was aware for years of PCB exposure but slowly and inadequately removed the chemicals from the campus, a 2022 Seattle Times and ProPublica investigation reported. The district told the Environmental Protection Agency that it had removed PCBs, but air quality tests later found the banned chemical still lingering in some classrooms, The Times found.

Look no further than Monroe”

Following the reporting, lawmakers set aside $1.5 million to remove PCB-containing lights and replace them. Only two districts — Bridgeport in Central Washington and Goldendale, near the state’s southern border — have sought grants, leaving $1.36 million still available, said Katy Payne, spokesperson for the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, the state’s education agency.

The Legislature also ordered a study on PCBs in schools, which the Department of Health produced in late 2022. The 109-page report recommended testing schools for PCBs and mandating that schools remove PCB-containing lights.

Lawmakers haven’t acted on those recommendations.

State Rep. Gerry Pollet, D-Seattle, who pushed for the PCB study and the $1.5 million, said it was “incredibly disappointing” that more districts haven’t sought the funding.

“If districts just aren’t paying attention, they need to look no further than Monroe to understand the dire consequences of ignoring PCBs in light fixtures,” Pollet said.

More than 2,000 school buildings across Washington were built before 1980, when PCBs — sought for their chemical stability and inflammability — were used in various materials to improve durability. About half those buildings haven’t been modernized since, according to OSPI data. Buildings that haven’t been upgraded are more likely to still contain some form of PCBs, researchers wrote in 2022. The chemical can be liquid or solid and found in paint, caulking, ceiling tiles and lights.

Only the Reardan-Edwall School District, which serves about 740 students outside Spokane, has tapped into the Ecology program funding to remove its PCB-containing lights, the department said.

The Department of Ecology is taking its efforts a step further. It’s launching a pilot program — limited to the Tri-Cities area for now — to streamline PCB removal by directly hiring a contractor to extract old light fixtures. All the program needs is districts willing to participate.

“I can’t stress it enough: We want to make it as easy as possible,” Smith said.

“Time-consuming light removals

Specific fluorescent light ballasts, called T12s, contain PCBs in a yellow, oily liquid form. The lights can leak or burst, releasing the toxic chemicals into the air. If they leak, it’s difficult and costly to clean up, the EPA says.

The Ecology program offers up to $10,000 per public or private school and up to $50,000 per Tribal school to remove, dispose of and replace contaminated lights. Districts can get funding to inspect their campuses, even if no PCB-containing fixtures are found.

The Seattle Times reached out to 16 school districts that have been contacted multiple times by state officials or flagged by the EPA in the past for PCB problems. Eight districts replied, saying they’ve removed all PCB-containing ballasts. One district, Highline Public Schools, based in Burien, said it hadn’t heard of the program and would look into the funding and whether its schools contain PCBs. Seven districts didn’t respond to The Times.

Besides lacking awareness, districts may have other hurdles. In 2022, researchers interviewed several health and education officials about removing PCBs. Some said it “may be time-consuming, or they may not have in-house expertise or available approved contractors to do the work,” the report reads.

Districts deal with PCB issues

Federal environmental regulators have intervened because of PCBs in at least five Washington school districts since 2002, according to EPA records.

The most recent was Sky Valley in Monroe. In 2022, the Monroe School District reached a settlement with hundreds of Sky Valley students, parents and staff for $34 million — the maximum allowed under its insurance policy.

The EPA doesn’t require schools or others to remove PCB-containing lights, but it has the discretion to step in when it determines cleanup is needed. The agency has documented PCB issues at schools in the Lake Washington, Kent, Spokane and Tacoma school districts. But that doesn’t necessarily mean students there were exposed to the chemicals.

Federal officials, for example, required the cleanup and disposal of PCBs at Redmond High School in the Lake Washington School District. The case was closed in 2008.

The Lake Washington School District told The Times that it had removed all PCB-containing lights by 2013.

The Kent and Spokane school districts also said they’ve since removed all PCB-containing lights. Tacoma Public Schools did not respond to a request for comment.

Replacing lights doesn’t guarantee that PCBs won’t still seep into schools. A 2012 study at a Massachusetts elementary school found elevated levels of PCBs in the air, apparently from building caulking alone. The study found that improving ventilation and sealing in caulk could reduce or eliminate exposure.

Push for health mandates

While there are no efforts to mandate PCB testing in Washington schools, state officials are pushing to strengthen broader school environmental health standards. That includes improving ventilation, which could help with more pollutants than just PCBs, said Juan Gamez Briceño, who oversees the schools program at the state Department of Health.

A committee formed by the Washington State Board of Health sent recommended rules to the Legislature in June. To move them forward, state lawmakers will need to take it up next year.

Washington, the 2022 PCB report said, is “not currently positioned to address existing or emerging environmental health hazards in our schools.” PCBs aren’t the only concern, researchers wrote, “Other hazards exist and should not be ignored.”