SOUTHINGTON — A U.S. senator is hoping to get federal help for cities and towns dealing with a chemical compound banned in construction nearly 40 years ago.

Democratic U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, a Cheshire resident, wrote a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency last week requesting that it provide more help to towns and cities in renovating buildings, particularly schools, where polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are likely to be found. The extent of contamination, not often known before renovations begin, can vary and the costs of remediation can greatly increase costs.

Murphy cited Southington and Wallingford among towns that have incurred costs due to the finding of PCBs and the requirement to remediate the chemical.

In the letter to agency administrator Gina McCarthy, Murphy said there is no list of schools where PCBs are known to exist. The chemical is found during renovations and can drive up costs.

“No definitive list of Connecticut schools contaminated by PCBs exists. Rather, we only have best guesses as to which schools most likely contain PCBs based on the year of their construction and other variables,” Murphy said. “The burden of both the fact-finding and the mitigation efforts fall heavily on local schools and communities.”

He then asked that the agency provide recommendations that could “ease the burden for local schools” and provide best practices on mitigation efforts.

At Southington High School in 2000, a malfunctioning clock caused a spill that contained PCBs. The damage was remediated at a cost of $2.1 million.

While renovating the Southington’s two middle schools, PCBs were again found. Edward Pocock Jr., chairman of the Middle Schools Building Committee, said they expected to run into the chemical but didn’t realize the extent of the contamination.

PCBs were initially found in wall and window casings. As renovations continued, workers found it had seeped into walls as well. Contamination was worse at Kennedy Middle School although DePaolo Middle School was also affected. Abatement at both schools cost about $6 million.

“It kept going deeper,” Pocock said. “We knew we were going to run into something but every time we turned around it kept escalating.”

The most useful aid from the federal government would be grant money, according to Pocock, due to the expense of remediation.

“It’s costly. It’s very costly and time consuming,” he said. “Money back to the town would be the best thing.”
PCBs are toxic and can be harmful if children breathe dust or touch anything that is contaminated, or put their hands in their mouths after handling any materials that have been exposed, according to the EPA. Being around the chemical can cause cancer and damage to nervous, endocrine, reproductive and immune systems.