By Alex Davidson
A deal to clean up a carcinogenic plume that has contaminated groundwater underneath PS 65 in Ozone Park could be finalized as soon as next week, a state Department of Environmental Conservation spokesman said.
Meanwhile, parents of students at the school have become increasingly angered by what they contend is a lack of information on the status of the school site.
DEC spokesman Peter Constantakes said a deal between the state and Ozone Industries, the former owners of a nearby chemical storage site from which the chemical trichloroethylene, or TCE, is alleged to have leaked, would not place total blame on any one party. The accord would instead require a framework on how the site should be cleaned up and who will be responsible.
“We're very close to signing a consent order with the responsible party,” he said. Constantakes said the document will be an account of what happened at the former industrial site, leaving lawyers from both the state and the responsible party to hammer out the details of the cleanup.
Parents of children attending PS 65 in Ozone Park and neighbors said they are upset that the state's promise to clean up the toxic site has been stalled for legal reasons, potentially jeopardizing the health of all students.
Katie Acton, whose daughter suffered from chronic asthma before receiving a transfer to nearby PS 62, said there have been little information or updates given to parents since the last, large-scale informational meeting on Sept. 5. At the meeting, Acton said, state DEC officials said they would remove the groundwater contaminants from underneath the school within a year.
“We would like to carry [the cleanup] on and get our neighborhood clean,” said Acton, who has not yet seen any evidence of a planned effort to remove the toxin. “We're not getting anywhere.”
Acton, along with other parents, founded the group Parents at PS 65Q and Neighborhood Against TCE to help fight for an agreement to clean up the site.
Parents initially became concerned in May when media reports claimed the school had abnormally high levels of carbon dioxide. The DEC then revealed the school was built on contaminated groundwater, which parents feared was causing schoolchildren to suffer from dizziness, headaches, sore throats and rashes.
DEC tests found elevated levels of TCE in soil vapors surrounding the school, Constantakes said at the time of the discovery last summer. State and city agencies, however, established that the school was safe and said the air and water did not pose a health threat to students and teachers.
But Laura Lesko, who at one time had six children at PS 65, questioned the safety of the school because of the problems her children had while there. She said they suffered from stomach aches, headaches and constant nausea.
She said, however, her four remaining children at the school have so far been without problems this year. Lesko, who lives only a block from the site, said she was nevertheless frustrated at the lack of state input.
“I guess they don't feel obligated to keep us updated on the situation,” she said. “What we would like to do is set up a subcommittee to inform people – no one wants to scare the kids by standing outside of the school.”
Ron Davis, spokesman for the United Federation of Teachers, said there have been no reported incidents involving teachers at the site involving the toxins underneath it.
U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Forest Hills), who attended the September meeting and called on state officials to clean up the site before settling the issues of responsibility and payment, said the state has not yet decided on how Ozone Industries could pay for any removal of the toxin.
“I share the parents' frustration,” Weiner said. “I don't want another class of kids walking into the school until we've taken care of the problem.”
The congressman said he was confident teachers and students at the school were safe but added that he hoped to prevent any future incidents involving all those attending the school.
Reach reporter Alex Davidson by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or by phone at 1-718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
