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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, AUGUST 11, 2019
Brooklyn kids exposed
to toxic lead, DOE says
Report reveals more than 360 Kings
County classrooms are contaminated
Inspectors discovered nine classrooms within the P.S. 9 Teunis G. Berg Elementary School in Prospect
Heights contaminated with lead poisoning. Google Maps
BY AIDAN GRAHAM
More than 360 classrooms
in Brooklyn public
schools are contaminated
by toxic lead particles,
the Department of Education
announced last
week.
A recent study found
that 938 classrooms in
302 elementary schools
citywide tested positive
for chipped or peeling
lead paint, including 361
classrooms in 114 Brooklyn
schools, according to
education officials.
Kings County primary
schools dominated
the city’s list of contaminated
classrooms, with
facilities such as the P.S.
1 Bergen Elementary
School in Sunset Park,
P.S. 5 Dr. Ronald Mc-
Nair Elementary School
in Stuyvesant-Heights,
and the P.S. 9 Teunis G.
Berg Elementary School
in Prospect Heights —
home to a whopping nine
lead-tainted classrooms
— included among the affected
buildings.
The city’s published
lead findings do not include
the severity of contamination,
but the heavy
metal is considered toxic
at virtually any level,
and children exposed to
lead are at risk of brain
and nervous system damage,
diminished growth,
slowed development, and
learning disabilities, according
to the Center for
Disease Control .
Congress outlawed the
sale of lead-based paints
in the 1960s, but paints
sold before then remained
in use throughout city
schools until 1985, and
chipped or peeling walls
can release toxic lead
particles that are considered
immediately hazardous,
according to the
federal Environmental
Protection Agency .
A spokeswoman for
the Department of Education
pledged swift action
to clean up the dangerous
city classrooms
before classes resume in
September.
“All work will be complete
by the first day
of school, and we’re going
to remain vigilant
throughout the year and
regularly inspect, test,
and immediately address
any concern in our buildings,”
said Miranda Barbot.
The Department of Education
also committed
to providing training to
school custodians to inspect
and address leadpaint
contamination, as
well as to create a centralized
database to inform
the public about the
status of each city classroom,
according to the
Department.
These are the first
lead test results of city
schools that the city has
made publicly available,
and the disclosure follows
a scathing WNYC
investigative report that
found toxic lead levels
contaminating dozens of
schools built before 1960.
A spokeswoman with
the Department of Education
did not immediately
respond to a request
for comment regarding
whether the city would
contact the thousands of
students who may have
been exposed to lead in
tainted classrooms in
previous years.
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