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Fairfield Hopes To Remove PCBs From Osborn Hill School Before Classes Start

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (CBSNewYork) - PCBs were commonly used in window caulking and paint before they were banned in 1978.

WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau On The Story

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That included Fairfield's Osborn Hill elementary school.

In many older buildings can easily become airborne, so Connecticut State Environmental Analyst Lori Salaby said that testing and abatement people are working to rid the school of the contaminants before opening day on August 30.

"The idea behind the abatement effort is to seal the PCBs as an interim measure so that the dust and the air in general cannot become contaminated with the PCBs," she told WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau. "So, I would think that the school would be able to be occupied by the children at some point, if not for the scheduled first day of school, sometime shortly therafter."

It could be a couple of weeks, said Salaby. If they can't start on time as Osborn Hill, students would start the year elsewhere.

She added that once classes resume, school officials would required to monitor the situation.

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