SCHOOLS

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

•• * , the other schools once they have reopened. The proposed new monitoring protocols Will be developed shortly and shared with all of you for review. In general, it was proposed that ongoing monitoring be continued for respirable particulates, asbestos and possibly VOCs. 4) The issue of outdoor play is of concern to some, particularly for PS/IS 89, where the playground is right on the Westside Highway truck route' carrying WTC debris to and from the barge located north of Stuyvesant H.S. Because the BOE cannot control the outdoor environment, particularly the wetting and covering of the trucks, for extra prudence, it was recommended that the BOE either bubble the playground or not use the outdoor playground for now. There is an indoor gym at this school. As our monitoring data continues to accumulate for the outdoor areas, this can be revisited. Because PS 234 and PS 150 are far enough from the truck routes, they will likely be okay for outdoor play pending final results of soil and bulk dust samples still being done in their play yards. Outdoor play areas do not exist at any of the 3 high schools. 5) Finally, completely unrelated to the WTC disaster, there is ongoing construction at Independence Plaza where PS 150 is located. The BOE leases space for PS 150 at the site, and has been trying to work with the landlord to finish the work more quickly. Noise, dust and health/safety hazards have been noted by BOE, UFT and ATC staff as they have visited the site in recent days. It was felt that PS 150 is not currently safe for students or staff and should not be reopened until the construction hazards are resolved, but that this has nothing to do with the 9/11 WTC events. For those of you who were at the meeting, please let me know if I misunderstood any of the above discussions. Once the pending data and the new monitoring protocols become available, we will send these on to all of you for review. If any of you would like a walk-through tour of the schools, we would be happy to set this up; just let me know. Finally, if you are willing, we would like to have your support publically around the reopening of these schools. After you have received and reviewed all the data and plans, a letter of support from you (individually or collectively) to the school communities on behalf of the BOE would be very helpful. We will even draft the letter for you if needed! Again, thank you very much for your time and help.

Terry Marx, MD Chief Physician for School Health NYC Board of Education 718-935-3215

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