COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC HEARING BEFORE JOINT COUNCIL COMMITTEES ON PUBLIC HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES and PUBLIC SAFETY - - - Monday, November 20, 2000 3:15 p.m. Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - - - RESOLUTION 000635 - Authorizing the City Council's Committee on Public Health and Human Services and Public Safety to hold an immediate joint committee hearing to investigate the quality levels of drinking water the City's school children and teachers are exposed to throughout the School District of Philadelphia in order to assure that children and the general public are safe from any toxic threat to their health. PRESENT: COUNCILMAN ANGEL L. ORTIZ, Chair COUNCILMAN DARRELL L. CLARKE COUNCILMAN RICHARD T. MARIANO COUNCILWOMAN DONNA REED MILLER COUNCILMAN FRANK RIZZO - - - VINCENT VARALLO ASSOCIATES, INC. Registered Professional Reporters Eleven Penn Center, Suite 600 Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215) 561-2220 2 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 I N D E X School District of Philadelphia Pedro Ramos, School Board President. . . . . . 5 Tom McGlinchy, Chief Operating Officer . . . . 13 Marijane Hooven, Manager, Environmental Office 17 Denise Baker, Assistant General Counsel. . . . 127 Jack Steinberg, Philadelphia Federation of 73 Teachers, Chairman of Health and Welfare Fund Dr. Walter Tsou, Commissioner. . . . . . . . . 88 Philadelphia Health Department Bill Madeira, PCCY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Vernard Johnson, Healthy Family/Health Start 106 Kelly Shepherd, Private Citizen, Parent. . . . 122 Falaka Wright, Concerned Parents of Phila. 129 3 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 P R O C E E D I N G S
Good afternoon. This is the recessed hearing on Resolution 000635 that was recessed to today. A quorum had been established on the prior hearing; we will continue today with the hearing. Would you read this into the record, please, the tile of the resolution.
Resolution No. 000635, authorizing the City Council's Committee on Public Health and Human Services and Public Safety to hold an immediate joint committee hearing to investigate the quality levels of drinking water the City's school children and teachers are exposed to throughout the School District of Philadelphia in order to assure that children and the general public are safe from any toxic threat to their health.
Thank you. The health and the water of our kids is, obviously, one of the most importance issue that is we can have. Kids that should have the expectations that they go, when they enter a school building, that they will be safe, safe when 4 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 they travel the hallways, safe when they are in the classrooms, safe when they are in the school yard, and safe when they drink the water. That expectation also is shared by the parents and those of us in public service. It is unsettling, to say the least, to find out that maybe some of our water and maybe not just some, but quite widespread of our water may be poisoned by lead. In this Council, in my years that I've been here, we've had hearings about lead poisoning and trying to abate the danger and -- of lead poisoning many, many times, from 1984 to the year 2000. I can tell you that we have spent years investigating, trying to fix up the problem in the City of Philadelphia and in the different homes and row houses that we have across the City. It becomes settling much more so, disturbing, very disturbing when we find that for years, we've had the problem with the drinking water of the City of Philadelphia, in the public schools. So that was the reason why this Council passed the resolution and set up these hearings. We're glad that President Ramos, the President of 5 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 the Board is here, I'm glad that we've been reading in the papers that cooperation between the EPA and the School Board have taking place and I'm glad that -- to hear that resolutions to some of these problems are going on. All we want to do is to see when the problem started, although that may be hard to ascertain, but we want to find out what the extent of the problem has been, what has been done about it, and what needs -- still needs to be done in order to make sure that this doesn't happen ever again. So could Pedro Ramos, the School Board President, Thomas McGlinchy, and Marijane Hooven -- Pedro, is that the team?
Mr. Ramos, you have the microphone, you know -- you've been here before, so you know the drill, identify yourself for the record.
Good afternoon, Chairman Ortiz, Councilman Mariano, Councilman Rizzo, and Councilman Clarke. My name is Pedro Ramos. I've 6 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 been President of the Board of Education since December of 1999 and a parent in the Philadelphia public schools since September of 1996. I appreciate the opportunity of sharing information about an issue that is important both to City Council and the School District: safe drinking water. With me are two key members of what you might call our "Safe Drinking Water Team." Mr. Tom McGlinchy, the District's Chief Operating Officer, and Ms. Marijane Hooven, our Environmental Manager. I'm certainly not a scientist or a medical expert, so I'll defer to Miss Hooven and her counterparts in the City's Health Department to provide technical information, but I would like to share with you a brief overview of the District's Safe Drinking Water Program. The District entered into an agreement with the City on December 31, 1999 to take a number of steps in all School District buildings to ensure safe drinking water. So far, these measures have cost approximately -- over approximately $2.3 million. A significant part of this program is a 7 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 process known as "flushing." Flushing calls for our building engineers, very early each morning, to literally turn on drinking fountains, drinking coolers, and drinking faucets to expel the water that has been sitting in the pipes overnight. Mr. McGlinchy will give you more details about flushing later in our presentation. In the December agreement, the District and the City also spelled out other actions to be taken. They included: taking water samples from drinking and non-drinking water outlets in our schools and office buildings; having these samples testified by EPA-certified laboratories; and taking appropriate follow-up action when the test results warranted it. Pre-sample inspections got underway in January of this year, with the process of taking initial water samples commencing in February. As noted in the materials provided to Council in advance, as of October 31, 2000, 13,968 water outlets were tested, including the vast majority of the District's drinking water outlets. As of today, outlets at only one school remain to be sampled because an extensive bathroom 8 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 modernization project is still underway there. On October 18, 2000, the City and the District entered into a consent decree, spelling out further actions the District would take to ensure safe drinking water. One item we consented to was something that, in fact, predated the October agreement, namely to provide bottled water in schools where drinking outlets were not yet tested or test results were not yet in hand. That's something we started to do on October 10th as a proactive way of addressing the concerns of staff, parents, and students in schools where tests results from water fountains and coolers were not yet available. As of October 31st, 91 schools were receiving bottled water, awaiting test results for their fountains and coolers. In the October agreement, the City and the District also established a timeline for determining the first 50 sites for remediation, as well as a schedule for remediation in all of the remaining buildings.
Could you tell me how you established the criteria for selecting the first 50 sites? 9 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635
I would be pleased to defer to my colleagues to tell you about that, Councilman, or to --
Thank you. As I was saying, in the October agreement, the City and the District also established a timeline for determining the first 50 sites for remediation -- I'll have Miss Hooven address that process, Councilman -- as well as a schedule for remediation of all the remaining buildings. In the remediation phase of the program, we will go in and determine how to address water outlets whose test results exceeded EPA action standards. In the October 18th agreement, we also said we would establish a way to share information about lead in water in general and our safe water drinking water program in particular. Later, Marijane Hooven will give you information about remediation and what the agreement calls "the 10 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 education aspect" of the Safe Drinking Water Program. I want to reiterate that the Safe Drinking Water Program, which we established in conjunction with the City and the EPA, is a priority for the School District. We have a new board of education and a new management team, including the interim CEO and the COO, Mr. McGlinchy. All are supportive of this initiative and all agree that safe drinking water deserves our full attention. It's important for Council to know this and our staff, students, and parents to know this too. We have appointed a staff member with the appropriate technical background to oversee this initiative -- that's Miss Hooven. She is committed to carrying out this program effectively. Thanks to the assistance of the City's Department of Health and the EPA, we have a good plan. All three organizations are on the same page, and we see that as a plus as we move forward. Finally, we've committed time, 11 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 attention, and resources to carry out this plan. We've taken more than 14,000 water samples to date and sent them to EPA-approved labs to be tested for lead content; we've taken 594 drinking water outlets out of the service, based on test results; we've provided bottled water at a cost a day of more than, it says here, 329,000 to schools that are awaiting test results, and turned off all of their water fountains until we know which ones can be returned to service. It says here 329,000. I'll also point out, Councilmembers, that at today's board meeting, which is currently recessed until a couple hours from now, the board has approved almost $800,000 of expenditures of needed requirements contract for the purchase and storage of water under this program. Finally, we are developing a work plan for remediation. The District cares, it's committed, and we're moving forward. Before closing, I think it's important to acknowledge that this project has not been without its bumps along the way. We've had to be diligent. On occasions, we've had to reiterate 12 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 that this project is a system-wide priority, and that it was to be treated as such by all employees involved in it. I've been personally involved in this project for two reasons: First, I think that it -- and I hope, that it sends a signal to the City and the EPA that this project has the board's support and, when and if necessary, some hands-on involvement at the top; second, I've been involved because any issue concerning the safety of our students and staff deserves that kind of attention. From my interaction with the City and the EPA officials, I feel confident that we can and will work together to ensure safe drinking water in our schools and offices. I view the City and the EPA as our partners in this endeavor. That's something that I've communicated to our staff; I expect them to be guided by this perspective. I'd especially like to thank the Department of Health for working with us in many ways on this important initiative. The Department has devoted a great deal of staff, time, and 13 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 attention to our Safe Drinking Water Program.
And, as the project progresses, it will demand much more. We appreciate this commitment to our students and our staff. Now I'd like to ask or chief operating officer, Tom McGlinchy, to give you a brief overview on flushing, sampling, and testing -- some of the safe components of our Safe Drinking Water Program.
Thank you, Mr. Ramos. Good afternoon, Chairman Ortiz and members of the Committees on Public Safety and Public Health and Human Services. My name is Thomas McGlinchy. I'm the Chief Operating Officer for the School District of Philadelphia. Generally speaking, the components of the School District's Safe Drinking Water Program are flushing, sampling, testing and remediation of drinking water outlets, and education of the public regarding the program. Mr. Ramos spoke brief about the flushing component of the program. Let me be a little more specific. Our building engineers have been 14 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 thoroughly trained in the daily process of flushing sinks, drinking fountains, and coolers. Building engineers are trained not only in the technical process but also in the preparation of daily logs of their work. Supervisory personnel perform daily random checks of this work. The EPA has prepared a training video on the process, and copies of the EPA guidance document, titled "Lead in Drinking Water in Schools and Nonresidential Buildings," have been distributed by the School District. The District's environmental manager conducts periodic follow-up checks on the process. The daily flushing assignments require a bit of creativity on the part of our staff. For example, picture a water cooler, which is activated by either pushing a button or stepping on a treadle. With dozens, maybe hundreds, of water outlets to flush each day, our building engineers can't stand there holding the button or depressing the treadle for the prescribed flushing period; they've got to move on, to turn on the next outlet and the next and so on and so on. Consequently, they use chairs to hold down 15 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 treadles or use duct tape or specially-designed clamps or jigs to depress fountain buttons. Flushing has to be accomplished before students and staff arrive for the start of the school day. This means that in an elementary school, building engineers may have to start their flushing duties as early as 6 a.m., in advance of their regular work day. Flushing in high schools may require staff to arrive as early as 4 a.m. This has resulted in overtime cost of over $1.3 million through October 31st of this year. Regarding sampling and testing, Mr. Ramos mentioned that the District is in the process of sampling both drinking and non-drinking water outlets in all schools and other buildings. The credentials of the firms providing the service to the District are included in the material that was provided you in advance of this hearing. Initial sampling is very close to being complete for all drinking water outlets throughout the District. Outlets at only one school remain to be sampled. It is estimated that the cost of initial sampling and testing for all of our buildings will be over $700,000. 16 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 As of October 31st, the District has sampled a total of 13,968 drinking and non-drinking outlets. Since the sampling and testing process began last spring, 594 outlets have tested at parts per billion or above, 7 which is the prescribed EPA determined action 8 level. All of these outlets have been taken out 9 of service. 10 Mr. Ramos also mentioned that we've 11 been delivering water in 4-ounce sealed cups to 12 schools that were awaiting test results for 13 drinking water outlets. As of October 31st, the 14 District has spent more than $329,000 for this 15 water. 16 Perhaps the most challenging and 17 possibly expensive component of the District's 18 Safe Drinking Water Program will be what our 19 technicians term "remediation." The District's 20 Environmental Service Manager, Marijane Hooven, who holds a master's degree in environmental health and is a certified occupational and health safety technologist, is here to explain the remediation and educational aspects of the District's program. 17 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635
Microphone, and identify yourself for the record, please.
And I'm manager of the School District's Environmental Office. Thanks for that introduction. The School District has firsthand experience now that flushing, sampling, and testing activities associated with outlets in larger, older buildings are both time-consuming and expensive. However, it may very well be at this point that the most expensive phase of the water quality project has not yet begun. And what I'm referring to there are the expenditures that will be associated with the remediation. While it's not possible at this time to provide you with an accurate estimate of the actual costs that will be associated with the remedial actions the District does take, I can provide you with a general overview of the 18 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 approach the School District intends to use while it moves through this phase of the project. The first step that we need to do is identify School District locations that require remediation. There are 298 buildings in the program, and to date, we have sampled all of Category I and Category II outlets in 240 of those locations. Of the remaining 58, we have sampled all Category I outlets in 57; we have one school left to do again because of the massive --
I'm sorry. Category I is all drinking water outlets, ice makers, and hot and cold faucets in full-service kitchens and home ec. rooms.
She needs to be able to take this down (referring to stenographer).
Okay. Category II outlets are hallway sinks, bathroom sinks, and classroom sinks. Okay, as I mentioned, we have to 19 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 identify School District locations that require remediation, and we have 298 buildings. Based on information we have to date, I think it's very fair to say that 95 percent of School District buildings will require some degree of remediation. I don't want that large percentage to unnecessarily alarm anyone, because if you read the definition of "remediation," if I put one outlet out of service in one building, I have performed remediation, and I have done that in several instances. So just now that you're more aware of the scope of the problem the School District has to face with this large number of buildings, I think a more logical approach would be to take a smaller number of buildings, focus on them, identify what needs to be done, do it, and move on. That way, we're taking a very large project, we're putting control on it, and it's going to make it easier for us to record and report our findings to anybody who wants to know. I feel the other agencies involved -- the Health Department and the EPA -- are in agreement with us because, actually, as part of 20 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 the October 18th agreement, we are to have turned in, by April 1, 2001, the first 50 sites for remediation. Now, you brought up earlier how are they going to be determined, I can't give you that answer right now because that will be an interdepartmental decision. It won't be the District's decision; it will be discussions with EPA and the Health Department.
But while all of these things are happening, the need for remediation and all of those types still is needed.
And while we wait -- and we know what lead does, I don't even have to -- lead is harmful to learning.
And just even a small percentage of lead -- you know, it isn't just, as we discussed here and we've gone through a very long teachers' educational discussion over the last year about learning curve and so on. We 21 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 know that kids' learning curve is affected not just by classroom environment and learning tools that they have, but if they -- if they have lead in their water for any minimum of time, and it could be a minuscule percentage, and their learning capacity is affected.
I mean, it -- it -- I don't -- I don't mean to be -- but it -- to me, this is of great urgency. I know that --
I know that Pedro -- Mr. Ramos has kids in the public school, and so do I.
And as all the other parents. I mean, just tell me. I mean, by --
Well, I think, like, the next thing I want to say is that the easiest, least expensive acceptable long-term remediation for any category of any outlet that has a lead concentration above the actual level is to put it 22 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 out of service, and we have done that. And every school where every drinking water outlet came above the action level, they've all been removed from service. And, quite frankly, I would like to stress that that is a remediation that the District would really like to follow. It is the quickest, easiest, cheapest thing to do to eliminate a lead hazard in the schools, and we have really -- we've done all of that already. And I would like to say that we are going to look at putting out of service permanently as a major part of our remediation. We have 41 schools right now where daily flushing activities are no longer required because every outlet has been tested and every outlet -- sinks and drinking water outlets -- above the action level have been removed from service. So we may very well have completed the remediation of --
What have they been replaced with? If you closed them and you have 23 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 removed them from service, water is still needed on a daily basis for the kids.
Right. But as long as we removed them from service and no health codes are affected and the Health Department and the EPA are in full agreement with --
What I'm asking is if you have removed these things from service --
We are possibly not looking to replace because we have enough outlets to exceed health code. That's a major issue that we're in discussions with the Health Department and the EPA is that if we have substantial outlets available that exceed health code, a big remediation we would like to look at is to leave out of service permanently, remove from the wall.
I don't disagree with you. You see, I don't -- we're not in disagreement. I'm saying to you, if you have closed these things and put them out of service, I imagine that you have not closed the school, 24 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 right?
So kids, teachers,, janitorial staff, everybody else, parents are going in there daily. If you have removed them from service in these schools, what have you done in order to supply water?
I'll ask Mr. McGlinchy to correct me if I'm wrong on this because, as I've said, I'm not technician here, but I think what happens is that you basically get to a point -- you are closing off individual faucets. If you get to a point where you've closed off too many of then, then you're ending up providing bottled water.
Bottled water. If you've closed too many faucets in this process of this type of remediation, you end up with bottled water to make sure that kids -- 25 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635
So you have -- then the answer is -- right, Mr. Ramos? The answer is, you are supplying bottled water in these places.
If -- if -- I think that what Miss Hooven was reacting to was -- take a school like Olney. I think the number of -- and I don't -- I just know what folks tell me here, but the number of faucets in Olney was 400, something like that?
I'm just picking one out. I have no idea what the facts are with Olney.
But I'm just picking one that I know has 400 water faucets. If in the process of testing, they figure out that some of those have to be turned off, at the end of the day what they do is, they look to see -- if they've turned off some but they still have enough sources of drinking water, then they might just leave the ones that they've turned off permanently turned off. If they get to a point where they've 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 turned off so many that there aren't enough sources of water in the building, then they would provide bottled water, in addition to the fountains they have left open.
But what we want to find out is how many of those places have been turned off so that you have to supply water, how many of those places are getting supplied with bottled water right now? And I'd like a list of those places to be given to this chair here and a listing of -- and at least a perspective of when we can expect, because that becomes quite expensive. And I imagine that in terms of remediation, that you're going to talk and address -- you would address, as you said, you're in conversation with the EPA and the Health Department and that it may require just a ripping off of these pipes, right?
And how far advanced are we in that analysis of infrastructure repair that may need to be done. Because we all know that our schools, the average age of our schools is 65 years old. We replace stadiums when they 27 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 get to be years old. And stadiums, it seems, are easily more replaceable than our schools and are much more expensive, but we replace them when they get to be 25, because they become uncomfortable to millionaires. And we have schools that are 65 or older. How are we going to do that? And what will be the projected or estimated expense as to that infrastructure? Because I believe it's needed, but. . .
Well, I -- to -- as far as 13 remediation, the first thing we want to do is look 14 at the most accessible replaceable component of 15 the affected outlet; that's the easiest thing to 16 do first before we even consider going behind 17 walls, that would be the last alternative. 18 But the first thing, as far as easily 19 replaceable unit -- part or component of the 20 outlet could be at actually the bulbar head 21 itself, or it could the screen within the bulbar 22 head that is no longer filtering but it's trapping 23 sediment and causing a problem with the drinking 24 water. 25 So what we would do is, that easiest 28 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 component first would be removed or replaced and then we retest. If the outlet passes, then we're done the remediation. If not, then we have to go to more extensive remediation, which might involve the brass fitting to the outlet or it might involve the supply line from the wall to the unit. But there is a sequence of events that has to be followed that we try the easiest, most accessible first, and if we get to a point that it has to go behind the wall, that will be an issue to discuss, but we -- we -- the plan is to try the easiest, most accessible replaceable components first and hope that they work.
Miss Hooven -- if I may, Councilman. What you do is, you go in and you set the screen and the bulbar, right? Then you work that down and you could possibly take the whole fountain off the wall.
And then you test that there, before you touch any pipe inside of the wall, right?
So you do the whole outward water fountain and the outlets --
So, have we done any of this yet to see where we are, or is it inside of the wall?
No. We have -- remediation is a step that we -- we are not to perform any remediation in a sense, other than putting out a service, without the EPA and Health Department approval on an individual basis, an a school-by-school basis.
Councilman, if you'll just give me a minute here. To the School District's knowledge, is there any other school districts locally, around here or nationally that has a comparable project to what's going on here? I mean, this is -- I mean -- you know, Boston must have the same problems as us, New York, where, you know, the schools are just as old.
I don't know whether MJ knows of any all. I mean, all I know is 30 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 anecdotally what I've heard, that many years ago, Baltimore had done something and Washington may have done something or was thinking about doing, but, I mean, this is -- you're right in terms of pointing out the scope, and it's something that's been amazing to me, which is that this is an issue that really affects, as I understand it buildings -- all buildings, really, in the United States built before 1991. And I know that -- I thought, you know, it, you know, it certainly made me think differently about what we do at home and that -- and I think the other thing is that we have, you know, that over time, these fixtures have been there in all of our buildings and probably in the world.
But, again, Mr. Ramos, not to interrupt you, and I appreciate your honesty in trying to answer this, but look, we're not here reinventing the atom here, or even the wheel at this point. I mean, the Housing Authority, the Department of Recreation, do we have -- do we know about programs that they have with lead? I mean, this isn't something new. I 31 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 mean, it might be new and scary, but we have kids in them rec centers still and we have kids, whether they're in them PHA houses and adults and all the people the good councilman spoke about.
No, but the reason I'm -- the reason I want to know is, if the Housing Authority per se is doing something like that, Councilman, then maybe there can be time and energy saved, where we're spinning our wheels, when we could find out what they do.
The response I've gotten to similar questions, Councilman, and we -- and, you know, and would ask staff to update that, you know, is that our efforts and many other public agencies have historically focussed more on lead paint, which is much -- you know, in terms of the risk of exposure is a much bigger problem. And to 32 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 some extent, we've been working, you know, with the help of the Health Department and the EPA and we have felt like we're somewhat breaking some new ground here because we do have a very old infrastructure and we're trying to get ahead of this, knowing that there are a whole lot of -- you know, that there are a whole lot of risks that children are exposed to and to the extent that we can help minimize one of those risks, we feel an obligation to do that.
I don't think it's a bad idea myself to learn from other people's experiences. And I think that, you know, if I ever had any criticisms, it's sometimes we hesitate in reaching out, and we have to build our own process before we learn from other people's mistakes or successes. I don't know why we should even hesitate to reach out to other areas. And, again, you can beat it to death, and I think we sometimes we reinventing the wheel to death -- 33 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635
Yeah, if you'd like for Tom McGlinchy to share -- I mean, I know that Tom's made at least some phone calls in the process over the last, you know, year or so to some other places, and we'd be happy to have him share that.
Thank you Mr. President. The question I have for Mr. McGlinchy, I'm just curious, is the flushing process, the outlets that you maintain for use. School's over at whatever, let's say 2:30, and that outlet is not used again till it is flushed the next morning. I'd be curious to see some numbers. You bring people in at 4 o'clock, we've wasted -- we don't even consider the water that we've put down the drain in any of this scenario and the thousands and hundreds -- probably thousands of gallons of water that's going down the drain. Does the School District pay for the water?
Because it's lots of water down the drain. At 4 o'clock in the morning, you irrigate, you flush a fountain. School starts at what time? 34 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635
A lot of kids -- I 5 don't know how much water they consume at 8:30 in 6 the morning, but I assume that the fountain then 7 becomes usable. At 4 o'clock, when you flush it, 8 how long do you flush it at 4 in the morning, 5 in the morning?
Well, it depends on the size of the building, but it could be a couple, three hours in a large high school.
What time do they actually shut it off? In other words, you put the chair on the trip liver, the fountain is flushed, it's shut off. At that point, has anyone ever tested, when you shut the fountain off, what the numbers are before it's next used? In other words, if it's sitting there after it's been flushed for two hours, three hours, have you really accomplished anything?
Well, let me answer the 35 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 question about -- the whole purpose of flushing in the early morning is because the water has -- has been inactive for, let's say, hours or so, and 5 that's where you get the highest buildup of lead 6 in the water. The initial flush of the whole 7 building essentially cleans the pipe of that 8 buildup. 9 When the building is in service, most 10 of those fountains are being constantly used 11 during the day, so you have the water running 12 through the system and you prevent the kind of buildup you would experience at -- if it had lain there for 8 to 12 hours.
That's not the period of time I'm really talking about.
I'm talking about the period of time -- you start flushing at 5 o'clock in the morning, you flush it for a half hour. At 5:30, 6:30, 7:30, 8 o'clock what's occurred during that period of time?
We flush the building until -- essentially, until the occupants come in. What occurs after that is, the fountains are 36 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 use, the outlets are used to some degree or other, so they're not laying inactive for eight to ten hours.
The occupants, in a way, are flushing because they're using the water.
But my point being, at 4 o'clock in the morning at a particular school, someone puts the duct tape over the button, that fountain runs until school begins. There's no period between when the flushing process occurs till the first water's consumed.
Well, if you'll picture a high school where the building engineer starts at the highest point of the school and just works their way down to the first floor, turning on all the outlets, then goes back to the top and shuts them off in the same sequence. So you can never have it where you time it exactly when the building occupants are in. However, I think your point is, at some -- during some period of time that the water is laying inactive, before the building occupants are there. 37 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635
In our judgment, and Miss Hooven can tell us if they've tested outlets that have been laying for two hours. In our judgment, the initial flush, which is the purging the pipes of the water that has for eight to ten hours and built up highest concentration of lead is the safest method to go, short of shutting off water in the entire building.
Has there been any research or any -- and I know we have plumbing codes in the City of Philadelphia. Have there been any -- is there any kind of concepts out there or technology to put a pipe within a pipe or to put something through the system that would seal off and encapsulize the lead? I mean, have we looked at that before we start ripping walls apart?
Well, since this problem has become public, I get about a call a week on a new method of addressing the problem. As a matter of fact, we're looking at one that is used in naval vessels for coating the inside of the pipes with epoxy. That is kind of an extreme 38 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 method. We don't think we're going to have too many schools where we literally have to go into the piping systems. But there are filters, there are coatings on pipes, there are stainless steel, there's ceramic fixtures for fountains, there are all kinds of things that are being looked at by the District and, I'm sure, by the Health Department, as a way to address this problem down the road.
Is there a point where the lead that's actually used in the joint leaches away to the point where there's -- the problem doesn't exist any longer? Is there a point where this problem fixes itself?
What basically happens is, you might think that older buildings are going to be the worst; that's really not the case. The older buildings really should be the better because with all of the years of the Water Department putting chemicals in the water for the purpose of getting to building to get inside the 39 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 piping, it coats. And what happens when the water changes the temperature cooler in the building, the chemicals they put in get dissolved and they come out of solution and they are actually meant to line the surface of the interior pipe. Therefore, if you have a change in water quality, for whatever reason -- maybe the water is a little more acidic that day, a little warmer, it's moving a little bit faster -- with that coding on the pipe, it's not going to have the corrosive characteristics that it would because of the chemicals that have coded, and those are what's leached off into water, more like calcium and things like that instead of lead.
It's a big challenge, and I would again encourage us to -- to look around.
I'd like to go back as to when actually we -- because it -- this precedes your tenure, Mr. Ramos, so it's -- it can't be -- the blame doesn't go on. This is a problem that we here in City Council, in 1990, in 40 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 December 1990, held hearings on -- in school, the contamination in school water coolers. And at that point, we in Council appropriated over $680,000 to sample school drinking water outlets for lead contamination. And according to EPA reports, at least 60 schools are included in the sampling that was done in 1991 and 1994. By at least two contractors that you hired Testwell, Craig & Con (ph.). I'd like to know what the results of those reports were. And if those reports that were done from the period 1991 to 1994 actually uncovered this problem. And then I would like to find out if this problem was known since that time, why did it take so long to begin taking the steps that we are now looking at taking? Because we knew there was there was a problem as early as 1990. We sat here in this body. And so I'd like a copy of those reports. I'd like to find out what those reports say about that? I'd like to -- can I get that, Mr. Ramos?
That was before my time, and we have one set of files -- 41 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635
I do know that we don't throw things out in the School Board, I hope not, that once it changes administration --
What I can tell you is, when I started in -- I started in late July 1994 as the asbestos supervisor and I took over the Department in '96. The record-keeping was.
Poor. As far as any memos or anything, there were none. We had one set of files.
What EPA received from the School District in August 1999, and I -- if they received it in August of 1999, somebody must have sent it over.
They received a report by the contractors, which was Testwell, Craig & Con.
I'm not sure that you guys are talking about the same thing. We'll get -- you know, we'll review this and also make -- 42 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 double-check with staff to make sure we've got the right request and provide anything that would be in the ballpark of being responsive that we have.
Good afternoon. I have question here. I just want to understand this a little bit better. If you've taken 594 drinking water outlets out of service, what exactly does that mean as it relates to the total number of schools?
Councilwoman, the 594 outlets taken out of service are spread across 200-and-some schools. We have a list of just how many outlets were taken out of service in each individual school.
Okay. And how many outlets are in each individual schools? Is that included on the list too?
-- does that mean that Olney has 400 drinking outlets?
No, I didn't think so. 'Cause just recently, I was at Germantown High School and I couldn't even imagine 400 drinking water outlets in a high school. What I -- and I'd also like to get more information about the safety program and how you're explaining to children, particularly young children in elementary school, because, you know, on occasion, children will go into a restroom, wash their hands, and then, you know, use their hands as a cup to get water from a faucet that's in a bathroom. So how are these children -- what kind of safety program do you actually have as it relates to educating the children in the actual school, particularly in the elementary school? Well, in all schools, but. . .
What we are -- part of the water quality project, one of the aspects is education and there are two components. As far as 44 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 the public education, what we're doing is, we're working with the Health Department and the EPA, and we're creating an informational brochure that we're almost finished the final draft on that, and it's a very good brochure; the dialog is very short and concise, and the illustrations that go along with it are very simple to understand, and it gives a good picture of other potential exposures of lead for children in all areas, and ways that they can reduce or eliminate those exposures. Those brochures, when they are done and ready, they will be handed out and they will be sent to all School District locations to be sent home with each student. In addition to that, while working with the Health Department and the EPA, we have developed signs that we're putting up over bathroom sinks and classroom and hallway sinks because we just -- we're trying to get out there. And it's not just for schools included in the program; this is for every school in the City of Philadelphia, whether it's brand new or doesn't apply to the program, we're putting a sign over sinks saying "Do Not Drink From These Sinks," and 45 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 the learning we're trying to get out there is sinks -- we want you to get the mentality that sinks were not made -- we don't want you to drink from them, we want you to drink from drinking fountains and water coolers. So that just started, and it seems to be going pretty well. I get some phone calls concerning what does it mean. When I explain that it doesn't necessarily -- we are doing this School District-wide, in every School District building, in every bathroom, and over every sink to get the education out there to not drink from sinks.
So even before the brochure is developed, is that kind of message being conveyed now that there is a problem? Without the brochure, are teachers telling young children in particular --
Okay. And how does the distributing of the bottled water work? Is it easily accessible for students to get the 46 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 water, or do they have to go through a hassle or some cumbersome type of arrangements to get water if they're thirsty?
Councilwoman, what we've done is located the -- we have 4-ounce plastic cups with a peel-back lids, similar to what you might get on an airline. Actually, the bottler that we're buying from now --
-- also supplies of airlines. We take those cups and we locate them in a -- actually, it's a tub we bought from Home Depot, and we placed that tub next to water fountains designated by the principal. It could be every water fountain in the building or it could be just certain water fountains.
No, we do not -- we do not have the capacity to put ice in all of those things, and ice poses -- also poses a health 47 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 problem when water is sitting exposed like that. Water is delivered to a school. It can be on a daily basis, but now what we've done is kind of got our inventory in order so we don't have to make daily deliveries. It's distributed by food service folks throughout the building. So we have a pretty good system to get the water to the various locations within a school and to keep it stocked.
Okay. So then children really don't have -- students don't have to get permission to get a cup of water. Of course, they -- I'm not saying that once they're in their class permission, they don't need permission to leave. But just in general, if I'm walking down the hall and I'm thirsty, I can go to the fountain and just get a cup of water.
I would say -- I can't speak for all the principals, but if the principal allowed you to go to the fountain when you were walking down the hallway, I don't see why they wouldn't allow you to -- I would not see why the child wouldn't be allowed to go to the cup.
The ice doesn't 48 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 particularly -- I know that the water that comes out of the fountains, that's warm water, that's not -- well, at least at the schools I drank water out of, the water's not ice-cold, so -- but at least it's something that the people can have to drink, to quench their thirst. Okay.
Excuse me, could I just follow up for, like, 30 seconds?
Could -- you comment on the health standards, and I don't want to open up a Pandora's Box here and I know this has been kicked around for a lot of years.
What standards does bottled water have? Because I remember a particular company in the City of Philadelphia 49 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 that was charged with filling up bottled right out of the Philadelphia -- out of the fire hydrants. Are bottled -- in other words, when we see a bottle of water, like over there in the corner, is it regulated? Is there any standards that they need to meet? I understood that that was one of the most unregulated industries in the United States at one time.
Well, I can let Miss Hooven speak to that, but I will tell you that when we secured this water, one of the first things we did was, there should be a license, a bottled-under license number or something by "so and so" on each one of those cups, and we checked with the bottler and we checked the analysis of what was in the water, and Miss Hooven did that, but she can speak to whether or not bottled water is now better regulated.
I'm not going to say that it's better, but it's now better regulated. What happens is, where the water is supposed to -- where they allege the water comes from is very strictly controlled and they'll do samples from the spring where the water is taken from, and then 50 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 after the water is processed in those little containers, they do another set of quality- assurance, quality-control testing to see if during the manufacture of the bottles to put them in the little containers, did anything happen to damage the quality of that water. So there aren't bottled-water standards, but there are standards and licenses that people that supply the bottled water have to have -- they have to have a State license and they have to have a license for their spring.
What about the fact -- what about -- do we -- is there inspections of where it's actually put into the bottles? In other words, when we get a bottle of -- a five-gallon bottle of water, the spring -- it might have come from the spring and we're satisfied with that, but what about the process of when it got put in the bottle? Is there some regulation or --
Usually what they do again is, when they take the water from the spring, right from the spring, there's a test for -- I can't name you the number of things they look at. 51 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 After that water has gone through the processing plant and is bottled, they take another sample to see if the quality of the water changed from the spring through the processing.
So is -- again, I hate to put this on you, but is bottled water better than our City water?
I can tell you that the only -- this water, probably the only thing that it doesn't have is fluoride.
Isn't that something that want in the water, fluoride for our kids' teeth?
Not in spring water, no. I don't think spring water -- the Nature Valley doesn't come with -- 52 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635
Answer the question. In your opinion -- you're a professional. In your opinion, and I don't want to use the word "better," would you say that bottled water is superior to municipal water?
No, I wouldn't because suppliers of public water have to meet.
Strict standards under EPA guidelines, and that's very strict that the City supply good water, and there's specific components that they evaluate. I wouldn't say it's better; I'd say you're looking at -- you're looking at spring water as opposed to publicly supplied water, you're looking at --
If the water in the public schools did not contain some pieces of lead, it would be very good for the kids because of fluoride and other things that it has.
But is it true that if it has a fancy French name, it tastes better? That's what I need to know. (Laughter.)
I believe we should 53 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 not concern ourselves with this mineral water, if I may, Councilman, okay?
Because we've got to get to the aspect of the school and the lead and the --
Well, I just want to make sure that we're not substituting something that might -- you pointed out something: we're substituting water that doesn't have fluoride. And I think we fought for a lot of years to put fluoride in the water as a --
You know, I guess our take on this would be that to -- bottled water for now -- bottled water for us, at the scale that we're using it now, is an interim measure while other remediation -- while some type of remediation 54 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 takes place.
I think you understand where I'm coming from. Again, I'm pleased to learn today that there are regulations, but I was just concerned that some of the reports that I've read that some of the bottled water -- we might be giving the kids something that we don't want to be giving them as a substitute for the water that is provided in the school system, and that was my only concern and I learned something here today about how bottled water is --
If I may, Mr. Ramos, I want you to indulge me with this. I want to -- have here the testimony of Mr. Bradley M. Campbell, he's the Regional Administrator of the EPA, and he could not be here, but his testimony -- he sent in his written testimony, which will be made a part of the record. (A copy of Mr. Campbell's written testimony was not provided to stenographer for inclusion herein.) 55 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635
And he gives a brief chronology of the EPA's involvement in a manner which is disturbing because of the timeline that is present.
Could you make a copy for Mr. Ramos? In the chronology that he puts forward, and I'll read it so that we can all see where we're at. It says: In March of 1998, the EPA was contacted by a citizen concerning lead contamination in the drinking water of the Bache Martin Middle School, located at North 22nd and Brown Street. That's right up the block from where I used to live. In conjunction with this complaint, the citizen supplied EPA with sample results -- now, this is a citizen -- performed by Testwell Craig, dated June 23, 1993. Now, this is the same -- this is the report that I asked you for a little while ago, and a citizen supplied this to the EPA. EPA contacted the School District's 56 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 Environmental Management Services Office on April 2, 1998 to determine if corrective action had been taken at the Bache Martin Elementary School; the School District did not respond. In October 1998, EPA hosted a compliance assistance meeting attended by representatives of the School District, the Philadelphia Water Department, the Health Department, (unintelligible), and EPA. That's the Philadelphia Environmental -- right, Commissioner? EPA requested that the School District provide additional information concerning the Bache Martin Middle School and other schools that may have had drinking water outlets with levels of ppb lead or higher. 18 Now, I've been told, and since I've 19 been dealing with this issue, they tell me that 20 20 ppb or higher is very dangerous and begins to affect the body at that point. Or, like I said, even a little bit of lead, from my own hearings before, even a little bit of lead in the water begins affecting the body of individuals. The EPA requested that this information 57 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 be submitted by December 31, 1998. The School District did not respond. In March 1999, EPA requested a walk-through of the Bache Martin Middle School and a review of sampling results. The School District's counsel -- and this I cannot understand -- instructed the EPA to get a search warrant to visit a school or review test records. A search warrant. There should be nothing to hide in this issue here. If we need to know if there's lead, there's lead, and we should not need a search warrant to find that out. I find this distressing. In late July 1999, the School District changed its position. That was three months afterwards. It's a long time if you're a kid and you're drinking water. Changed its position and agreed to allow EPA to review all of the lead-testing records for the entire School District. Correspondence from the School District's counsel noted that the test results covered approximately 100 locations. At the end of August 1999, the School District turned over the lead test results for 23 locations. At least 10 of the locations have 58 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 levels above 20 ppb lead in the drinking water sample. The accompanying materials seem to indicate that the samples were taken in response to individual complaints rather than as a part of a systemic sampling plan. And here comes that report again. The Testwell Craig & Con test results from the sampling program conducted in '91 through '94 were not included in the material received from the School District. Under Section 1431 of the Safe Drinking Water Act Emergency Powers, the agency has the authority to act to protect public health if, based on information it receives, that there may be an imminent and substantial threat to public health. Based on the information EPA had as of August 1999, EPA found it necessary to take action under these emergency powers, which is, I think, why these hearings then occurred. EPA shared its concern with the School District. In an attempt to obtain School District cooperation, EPA met on September 24, 1999 with representatives of the School District, the Health Department, City Solicitor's Office, PWD, and the 59 11/20/00 PUB.
HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 School District counsel's office. At that meeting, the School District agreed to enter into an agreement with EPA to flush the pipes -- this is September of '99 -- as a temporary remedial measure. Systematically tests for lead and (unintelligible) sources of lead contamination. On October 12, 1999, EPA sent the School District a draft emergency order of concern pursuant to EPA's authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The School District rejected the order and withdrew its previous oral agreement. On October 21, 1999, the School District agreed to implement a flushing program by November 1, 1999, in accordance with EPA guidelines, and to enter into an enforceable agreement with the City of Philadelphia Health Department by November 30, 1999. On October 29, 1999, the School District issued a work order to its building engineers to begin daily flushing in Philadelphia public schools. The provisions of the work order varied greatly from the flushing program to which the EPA and the School District had agreed. 60 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 EPA immediately provided comments to the School District on November 1, 1999. EPA conducted five inspections to schools in November 1999 to ensure that daily flushings of the pipes was being performed properly. The inspection sites were chosen by the School District. These inspections revealed that flushing was not being implemented effectively. The School District revised its work order of flushing per EPA's comments. Now, this was in November -- in November of '99, a year ago, I would imagine.
That's around the time that the problems in communication among the agencies got to such a level that they came to my attention. And I brought them to the attention of superintendent, and he and I became personally involved to the point that by the time we had this flushing program up and running, the superintendent and I, and still today, get a daily report on flushing, showing every school that was 61 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 flushed, the result. If a school wasn't flushed on a given day, it tells me why that school wasn't flushed, whether there was a problem with getting into the building that day or something like that. And it's, you know, I think there are -- there are -- there is no other way than to say that there has been -- among other things, there was a point where the School District and the Health Department and the EPA were either not communicating or not on the same page. We stepped this up as much as could possibly be stepped up with the superintendent and I not only becoming involved but getting daily reports, moving the day-to-day responsibility now to the chief operating officer, Tom McGlinchy, who reports to our chief executive officer. So that -- I mean, I think that the -- the chronology and the first couple pages, as I just skimmed them, also talked about -- Mr. Campbell talks about his recent experience. And then in terms of the responsiveness of the District, the School District has put this at the top of its list, of its priority list. I think we've addressed a lot of the, I'd say, 62 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 communication and perhaps some, you know, issues at mid-level among the agencies where we weren't communicating or coordinating this --
Well, I think you're taking the steps. I think the thing that bothers me is that from 1990, when we knew that there was a problem with this because we had hearings here, and maybe it's part our fault also because maybe we did not monitor this as adequately as a Council should have. From that point on in which you order a series of studies to be done by these contractors, knowledge was there. And the point is, how many kids have been harmed because this was not -- this process that you're implementing now is ten years too late.
Well, I can't speak for, you know, what Council was doing in 1990 or the District --
I'm saying that the problem was known in '91 and it is now that we are really implementing the procedures --
Well, I think it's fair, Councilman, to -- I mean, last year, there were -- I mean, you know, I got -- I threw myself into 63 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 this 'cause I didn't like the way we were communicating and I didn't think it was working, and you have a lot of this kind of going back and forth, which ended up becoming adversarial, when the agencies were really supposed to be trying to figure out how to work together the way we are now. I think the context is, you know, for those of us who are homeowners and parents and all of that, that this is an issue -- that the magnitude of this issue affecting, you know, like you said, you guys were talking about it in 1990, it's an issue -- the EPA standards, I thought, actually came out like in '91 or something like that or became effective in '91, applied to all buildings. And while this issue's been, you know, getting addressed and not -- we weren't doing what we we're doing now, most places are still not doing what we're doing what. And --
We're only concerned about -- I'm not concerned about what -- (Unintelligible, parties talking over each other.)
-- which is what you're 64 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 going to, and the School District also during that time has been very aggressively addressing health issues in the environmental area such as the issue of lead paint and asbestos. And, you know, in this, we'd like to be doing everything at once, and I think that there is -- this whole endeavor could have been going a lot more smoothly over the last, you know, over the last year than it has.
Could you find out for me if you actually -- if someone in the District actually required a search warrant from the EPA?
In reference to -- you know, we've all been through Firestone tires and now we're discussing this issue. Maybe you can elaborate or explain -- I believe the Philadelphia Inquirer wanted some information about this issue, and they were basically turned away and had to use the Freedom of Information Act to get the information that they reported, and I 65 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 heard that today on another -- why would they have to use -- or go to the extreme of using the Freedom of Information Act to get some information from the School District about the magnitude or the problem that you folks were facing?
They shouldn't have, and I believe they got the information from the EPA under the Freedom of Information Act. And, you know, today, that's something that wouldn't have happened. It's -- you know, in my opinion, it's not the way -- the School District shouldn't be getting defensive about things and then say, Wait, stop, let me go see what's going on. If we're operating from the position that we're an open book, we should be -- we should be just a lot more forthcoming with information. One of the issues reported in that article was how -- the delay in getting some of that information. My understanding is that the District has provided to the EPA, and I think to anyone else who's asked, the -- everything that the School District has that was responsive. And that's -- I mean, that's as much as we know after, you know, after trying to dig into this same 66 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 question.
Well, I know that a citizen got a hold of those consultants' reports. I'd like --
Councilman, and I mean this earnestly, if there -- if there is something that someone has, either a member of the public or the Council, that we don't have, we'd like to see it.
I would like to -- if I had it, I'd give it to you, but this was a thing that you contracted for.
And my understanding is that the reports that we have been provided and I don't know how many that is.
One final question, and then we have -- okay, one question from me and then one question from Councilwoman Miller. I'd like to find out from you in terms of what it's going to take to solve this problem thoroughly and how much it's going to cost. And whether, you know, what manner of infrastructure change needs to be accomplished. Because we 67 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 cannot have -- we cannot expect kids to keep on going to unsafe learning environments. So if I can have that from you, sir, I would appreciate it. 'Cause we're going to have a follow-up hearing to this to find out where we're at, where we're going, and how we're doing.
Councilman, one of the problems with estimating the costs at this point is that we really don't know the extent of the problem. As Miss Hooven described --
I mean, I understand. I mean, this is what I'm talking about.
I mean, we're talking ten years after we knew what the problem was and we still don't know what the extent of the problem is.
I think that they were reacting, Councilman, to your question about remediation, which is something -- we can tell you what the cost of testing is. 68 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635
Well, remediation, what I've found out so far is turning off.
Is turning off, but that is not a solution because kids need drinking water.
I mean, once you turn it off, how do you turn it back on? And then how much is it going to cost to turn it back on?
We can provide you with the to-date and probably projected cost of testing costs of water, what we've spent so far on remedial -- well, what we already know about in terms of what's going to need to be fixed. My understanding is that we're still working with the EPA and the City on the actual remediation plan -- is that the right terminology? So that we can give you up to what we have and keep you posted, both through our Web site and directly as we roll this out of how the certainty --
Well, if you have a remediation plan, I'd like to see it, I'd like to 69 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 keep it for the committee, and Council can keep on with this, okay?
If the building engineer can't get into the school to flush the water, does that mean that the water is turned off for that day?
No. And, Councilwoman, we have had several occasions where, for one reason or another, a building engineer did not get to the building on time to do the proper flushing. In that case, the building is not flushed on that particular day, and the incident of that happening is very, very small. In that case, the building is not flushed, but we cannot operate the building without the essential water. I mean, we need water for drinking, we need water for toilets, et cetera, et cetera. And I assure you that that has happened in just a very, very small handful of cases.
Okay. You know, 70 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 I guess with -- I have the same concerns of Councilman Ortiz, that if this is a problem that we know about, then we have to do something to rectify it. We cannot have children -- and I also have a daughter in public school. We cannot have children drinking from fountains with contaminated water.
We wholeheartedly agree, Councilwoman, and we're taking every step we can to prevent that from happening.
Okay. One other question Councilman Mariano asked me to ask. What role, if any, does the PFT --
Because, Mr. Ramos, could you stay around, please? 'Cause I think we may have some others. But given the situation we're in, given -- in terms of overall the school system and the 71 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 need for money overall in the school system, we really don't need a lot of other costs coming into existence. So it really -- if it's really going to impact on a lot of other stuff, the ripple effect of this really has some long-term repercussions.
In terms of our cap, we're dealing with this in our operating budget, and I know Mr. McGlinchy can give you some preliminary stuff. We're dealing with in the capital budget in terms of our planning. When we do our requirements contracts on what faucet fixtures --
Absolutely. We need to -- and, you know, I'm -- I at this point think that there is a momentum building for a type of program in Philadelphia that other places are going to be looking at to deal with their issues when they come to dealing with them.
Thank you, 72 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 Mr. Ramos. Mr. Jack Steinberg of the PFT.
Mr. Chairman, I just want to beg your indulgence for a minute just in terms of a matter that I raised to you during our City Council briefing in 225 the other day, and that's I'm currently recessed from my own tribunal, from my own body over there, and I can stick around for a while, but we're at a middle school this evening.
We're going to have a follow-up hearing on this, so it's no problem.
Dr. Tsou, Commissioner, we'll be right with you after this, okay?. 73 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 Jack, you know the drill. Just get the microphone and identify yourself for the record.
I'm Jack Steinberg, and I'm currently here under the responsibility of Chairman of the Health and Welfare Fund for the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. We had arranged for our industrial hygienist to be here last Monday. Unfortunately, when the change was made, he couldn't make it today so that if you have -- if I can't supply the answers for you and if you have any other technical questions, write them down and I'll certainly get all of the information to you.
And by the way, if you want to use him as a source on some generic questions, please feel free.
Okay, thank you. The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers Health and Welfare Fund has retained and used the services of Occupational Health Consultation Services, Incorporated, and Mr. Roseman is our 74 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 consultant, the industrial hygienist that I mentioned before. We used them for many years for the purpose of ensuring that the School District buildings in which our members work and in which our school children are taught, hopefully, we have to keep them healthful and safe. OHCS has helped evaluate a broad range of occupational and environmental and health and safety issues, including those related to asbestos, indoor air quality, chemical contamination, lead exposures and others for many years. As a result of parents asking for the Health and Welfare Fund, it is our policy to invite not only staff but also parents to meetings concerning environmental problems so that they can be included and fully understand all of the issues that affect the environment in which their children learn. This approach originated many years ago. The reason I'm explain this is technically the Health and Welfare Fund is to supply health services for our members, but we never hold a faculty or a staff meeting on these issues without inviting the parents. And 75 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 frequently, the parents demand it. This approach originated many years ago, when parents at the Bryant School refused to permit their children to enter the building until they heard from the PFT Health and Welfare Fund. We had meetings with parents and faculties at dozens of schools throughout the entire city. It has been our experience that when the PFT Health and Welfare Fund uses OHCS in this manner, a much more effective situation in terms of communication and remediation of hazardous condition results. This benefits all of the parties and prevents emotional overreactions in many cases. The PFT Health and Welfare Fund is committed to such an approach because the health, welfare, and safety of not only the staffs but also of the children who use the Philadelphia public schools is our concern. A few years ago, we alerted the School District of the problem of lead in the drinking water in Philadelphia schools. Following much prompting and an EPA-issued recall of several types of water coolers known to contain significant concentrations of lead, a large-scale 76 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 effort was undertaken by the School District to evaluate and sample water in schools for lead concentration. This activity was carried out over several months and cost the School District thousands of dollars. At the time, the School District did not permit us access and input into all phases of this work. Unfortunately, the program is so inadequate that it resulted in unusable data and necessitated the School District having to start all over from the beginning. This required a costly duplication of effort. Even today, the School District policy seems to be the exclusion of the PFT Health and Welfare Fund from full and open involvement in addressing the safety and -- these safety and health hazards. The same seems to be true with respect to the EPA and the City of Philadelphia's Department of Health in connection with lead-in- he-water testing being conducted by the School District. Lead is a very serious health hazard to Philadelphia school children and to our members. And, by the way, it's cumulative in the blood. 77 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 You should keep that in mind. It is particularly dangerous to very young children, to pregnant woman, and to those with certain other diseases. Lead in paint and water must be seriously and comprehensively evaluated and remediated. Lead accumulates in bone and potentially affects blood, reproductive organs, the brain, and many other bodily systems and organs. It is a cumulative poison, with every exposure contributing to the potential hazard.
Lead can cause birth defect, spontaneous miscarriage, brain damage, and associated learning defects, and (unintelligible) and other blood and marrow diseases can also result. Because of the seriousness of exposure to this contaminant in the School District buildings, the PFT Health and Welfare Fund is very concerned about the way in which the inspection, evaluation, testing, and remediation effort of the School District has proceeded. So far, the School District has collected more than 12,000 water samples from approximately 225 different locations. Almost 12,000 individual outlets have been tested for their lead and water 78 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 concentration. It is important to note that of the samples collected, about percent, or 4 somewhere around 2500 samples, have exceeded the 5 action level -- that's the safe -- what they 6 designate as the safe level for the amount of lead 7 that can be safely found in water. And in about 8 11 percent or 1300 samples, the level of lead in 9 the water is twice what is considered to be safe 10 by the EPA and the Department of Health. 11 There are about 500 outlets in over 100 12 separate locations that have had to be removed 13 from service because of concerns about the 14 dangerous levels of lead in the water. In more 15 than 80 buildings, bottled water is being used to 16 ensure that children and faculties are not 17 drinking dangerously lead-contaminated water. 18 Because of the extent of the lead 19 contamination of drinking water in the 20 Philadelphia schools and the way in which the District has conducted themselves during these past 11 or 12 months on this project, we have some very grave concerns. There are several reasons for our concern, including EPA and the Philadelphia Department of Health statements and 79 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 conclusions pointing out serious deficiencies in the way in which the School District was complying with the initial agreement that the Philadelphia Department of Health and the Philadelphia School District had on drinking water safety, signed on December 31, 1999. Less than eight weeks ago, the EPA was quite concerned with the way in which the School District was conducting the lead testing program. They notified Dr. Tsou, Commissioner of the City of Philadelphia's Department of Health, that despite personal assurances from the previous superintendent that he would exercise an oversight and compliance function and that strict safeguards would be followed to address the risks posed by lead in water, there had been evidence of significant failures by the School District to observe compliance with the agreements signed. The EPA found that, one, drinking water outlets had not been turned off in all cases where sample results exceeded the lead-in-water safe level. S. Jenks School. The Philadelphia School District had undertaken 80 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 remediation and follow-up sampling without approval by the Philadelphia Departments of Health and Water, which is required. In some cases, lead-bearing fixtures have been remediated with another potentially lead-bearing fixture, and that, for lack of communication with the Philadelphia School District, continues to undermine EPA confidence in the sampling. For instance, maintenance personnel flushed the water at some locations immediately prior to the collection of samples. Examples of that would be South Philly High and the Pollock School. This renders the samples collected meaningless and can make contaminated water appear to be safe. The Health Department responded by issuing an order to the Philadelphia School District on or about October 11th that indicated many problems have been observed. The Health Department said, in the course of its inspection, the Health Department has observed children drinking from water outlets that are known to exceed 20 ppb. That's the action level for safe levels, that's 20 parts per billion.
Also, the 81 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 School District has not complied with its obligation under the agreement as set forth. That's the end of the quote. Specifically, there were seven areas of deficiency pointed out by the Philadelphia Department of Health as follows: 1. The Philadelphia School District has not prioritized sampling activities as required. 2. The School District has not completed follow-up sampling within five days as required. 3. The Philadelphia School District failed to turn off outlets within the required 48 hours that tested above the safe level. 4. The Philadelphia School District has not developed remediation plans as required. 5. The School District sampling has not been in compliance with proper sampling protocols. 6. The Philadelphia School District performed remediation without agreement from Health and Water Departments. 7. The Philadelphia School District 82 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 has not established an escrow fund to pay for costs and fines. The Health Department concluded by saying, quote, based on the foregoing, the Health Commissioner finds the Philadelphia School District in substantial noncompliance with the terms of the agreement, end of quote. Because of these deficiencies and the potential harm that can result from exposure to lead, fines and costs have been levied against the School District. The School District has been ordered to pay $1 million in fines, 300, which was already to have been escrowed. They also have been assessed 75,000 to reimburse the Department of Health for the cost of oversight and monitoring. 2 million spent by the School District on consultants. School District labor and laboratory costs on those projects so far. Because of the deficiency of the District's approach to this very serious matter and because the Health and Welfare Fund firmly believes that a cooperative approach between our representatives and those from the 83 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 School District will further the smooth and efficient conduct of the lead-in-water testing and remediation, we are offering the following recommendations: 1. Steps should be taken to ensure that all drinking water outlets that exceed the action for safe level for lead are immediately removed from service. Quality assurance and onsite monitoring should be done to confirm that this has been done. 2. Steps to ensure that proper sampling procedures and protocols are followed should be developed. All remedial action should be developed after discussion and input with all technical representatives, including those from the PFT Health and Welfare Fund. Remedial action should then be approved by the Philadelphia Department of Health and the EPA before they are undertaken, and technical representatives from the PFT Health and Welfare Fund should be notified of and invited to any and all meetings held between representatives of the Philadelphia School District and their consultants and contractors, EPA, the City of Philadelphia, et cetera, where 84 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 technical issues related to sampling, communication, hazard remediation, et cetera, are being discussed. We were notified about a year ago that they were entitled to data but we were no longer to be involved in meetings in which remedial action and proper testings are planned. This is unfortunate, not only for the staff, but for the children. It potentially sets up an adversarial position, which prompted our press conference at the Gompers School. When we worked cooperative in the past, we were able to address proper remedial actions and testings and communicate this to staffs and parents. This was particularly true of the asbestos problem. Managerial prerogative has no place where health, safety, and teaching and learning conditions are involved. We would appreciate it if you would strongly recommend to the School District that we once again be partners.
Thank you, Mr. Steinberg. Some of this is distressing in terms of the cooperation. And do you find that -- you heard the testimony of -- 85 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635
-- the School District. Do you find that those steps have been taken? These are things that you point out, according to them, have been remediated.
No. I -- from the information that we have and from our consultant and from the EPA and the Health Department, it would be advantageous to the School District to involve all of these entities in planning the remediation and in developing the protocols that are recognized as viable, usable, and safe for children.
And that would be for our experts to determine. And that hasn't been done.
But the PFT's contention that the statements that are made as to the flushing and the remediation that has taken place and the effectiveness of that are not -- not what is being claimed to be.
Or is that a part of 86 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 a systemic plan?
It's really not systematically put in place. And so even those giving the report may not actually know what has occurred at those locations. There are -- remember, we did recommend onsite oversight and somebody responsible. I don't know what system they're using.
You said that in some cases. Do you have clear information and documented information that in cases where remediation and by -- has been replaced by another potentially lead-bearing fixture?
Yes. Our consultant collects all of that information. That's the type of information I will get to you.
Could you have your consultant get that and forward that to us?
Who is the person that's responsible for the onsite oversight? Is there someone per school? 87 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635
That the School District would have to answer for you. I don't know whom they've designated, if they've designated anyone.
Do you have information as to places where supposedly the tap had been turned off but actually had not been turned off?
We have that -- any information named in here we have examples of, and I will have them write them up and give them to you.
Thank you, Jack. Commissioner? I'll be in touch with you and the other folks. (Witnesses come forward.) 88 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635
I don't know whether I have told you how delighted I am that you are commissioner, I don't know if I've been able to say that to you publicly, but let me say that I am quite delighted to see you heading up the Health Department of this city and that I -- I was pleasantly surprised when I heard your name.
But I can tell you, like I said, I don't know if I have congratulated you publicly or -- but I am really very -- I think we're fortunate to have someone of your commitment and skill. And, again, I go back to the work commitment to the public to public health and as commissioner of the Health Department, that I feel very pleased to see you there.
Thank you. Good afternoon, Councilman Ortiz and members of the Joint Committee on Public Health and Human Services and Public Safety. I'm Dr. Walter Tsou, Commissioner of Public Health Campbell who is heads our lead program. And I'm here actually joined by Paula Campbell, who is our 89 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 medical director for our Lead Program, and Dick Tobin, who heads up that program. I'm here to present testimony concerning lead in the School District drinking water. Lead poisoning, as you know, poses a significant threat to the health of young children in most older cities in our country. The most common cause of lead poisoning in children is lead dust from old lead-based paint. However, lead can also be found in older plumbing systems. In Philadelphia, the lead content of the City's water is well within the U.S. EPA's requirements when it leaves the water treatment plants. Lead enters the water through older pipes, fixtures, and the solder used to connect them. And this is a concern relative to most buildings built before 1991, which includes essentially all of the 300 buildings operated by the School District. The EPA requires that lead -- I'm sorry, that drinking water outlets, especially water coolers in schools, be tested to ensure that lead levels in the water are below 20 parts per billion, a level at which adverse effects can 90 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 occur, particularly in children. In April of 1999, the EPA expressed concern that the School District of Philadelphia was out of compliance with these requirements. Discussions among the School District, the EPA, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, with the cooperation of the Water Department and the Law Department, lead to a December 1999 agreement on drinking water safety between the Department of Public Health and the School District. The School District embarked on an implementation of the agreement, retaining environmental consultants who performed sampling and establishing a system to accomplish a process of daily water system flushing. Nonetheless, subsequent inspections by the Department of Public Health and the EPA showed that the School District was out of compliance with certain parts of this agreement. In order to achieve full compliance and to better focus future efforts, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, with guidance from 91 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 the EPA and the DEP, negotiated a consent order and agreement with the School District of Philadelphia. This consent order and agreement was signed by myself on October 18, 2000 and delineates specific steps and procedures to be taken and provides for penalties in the event of noncompliance.
Could you forward that order with all of the details to the chair?
Okay. The Department of Public Health is confident that the provisions of the consent order and agreement assure that the children are protected from unacceptable levels of lead in school water. As provided in the consent order and agreement, wherever there is any question about water safety, warnings will be posted, outlets taken out of service, and bottled water provided. In addition, the School District is 92 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 developing a plan to inform all parents and all staff of the dangers of lead poisoning and the results of the testing whenever test results of 5 parts per billion or greater are found in a 6 school's water, the School District will notify 7 the principal, who will share this information 8 with the faculty, school nurse, and parents. 9 With the inception of this project, the 10 School District's contractors have tested more 11 than 13,968 individual water outlets, and all 12 drinking water fountains that exceed standard have 13 been removed from service and bottled water is 14 being provided where needed. As agreed, the 15 School District is currently posting warning 16 notices at hand-washing sinks that exceed the 17 drinking water standard but are needed for hygiene 18 purposes. 19 The Department of Public Health is 20 encouraged that the School District has made substantial progress in satisfying the terms of the new agreement and has, in fact, accelerated the testing schedule called for in the consent order. The cooperation of the School District's staff involved in testing and remediation is quite 93 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 noteworthy, and the personal attention given to this issue by the School Board President is exceptional. The Department of Public Health is confident that with the continued adherence to the terms of the consent order and agreement, the students, faculty and others who work in School District facilities will be provided with safe drinking water. Thank you for the opportunity to present this testimony this afternoon.
Doctor, Councilwoman Miller just leaned over and said to me whether I had -- if I have -- I have kids in public schools and so does she, and she asked me if I had received at any time, at any time, if I had received at any time anything from the school that my kids attend about the water problem, if I had ever received anything from the school as to the requirements of what you're talking about or the EPA. And, as I told her, I have never received anything from the school. And neither has she, have you?
In fact, I think it's important that parents know what's going on. 94 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 Sometimes high school children won't bring flyers and information home. My daughter's in high school, but the problem's been going on for a while, and ten years ago she was in elementary school, but in her school, evidently, there is a problem, 'cause she just call me about another matter, and I asked her, was she familiar with these little water bottles? and she said yes, she sees people drinking them in class. So evidently, her school must be one of the schools that, you know, is having a problem, but I haven't received anything.
But I think, you know, one of the things that is disturbing about all of this is just the extent of the problem, Doctor, and how long it's been going on. You know, it might be that all of these test results that we got in which our kids fail is because they've been drinking the water. And I really, really am concerned because it's been such a long time. We -- the thing is that we have hearings here. We had a hearing ten years ago on this issue about school lead -- lead in the school 95 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 water and so on. And unless parents keep bringing it up to us, we do not follow that monitoring, but it's been going on for quite a while, and the remedial actions have only started very recently. And it really bothers me that the EPA had to ask for a search warrant to be able to test the water. I mean, that's really just incredible in this day and age that -- and that parent has materials that we don't have.
Well, I can only say I think the new leadership of the School District has taken this very seriously. I think there's been a true turnaround in terms of their compliance to many of the terms of the consent order. And we are actually now meeting every other week with members of the EPA, the School District, our own Health Department staff, and the DEP to talk about the technical aspects of this consent order, and were very pleased with that improved communication. We have the right now to enter any school and conduct our own inspections to make sure that they are in compliance. And we've actually -- you know, we have started doing all of 96 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 those things to assure the public and the members of the School District and the kids in the school, most importantly that, in fact, School District is in compliance with this agreement. Now, I can't speak for the past and I --
No, I don't expect you to, but I do expect that you will keep this Council informed, this committee informed as to what is the Health Department's role, what are you doing, what is the implementation, what are the results that are coming forward, and what has -- what has been the level of cooperation, and what has been the level of remediation that has taken place so that we have a sense that our kids, that when we send them out every morning, they are not suffering or being put into danger by the water that they may have available to them.
You have heard some of the stuff that has been said before and you are confident and I -- that will comfort me because, again, I -- you're confident that the activity 97 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 that is now being done by the School Board, the school system, the School District is answerable to the problem at hand.
I am confident. The larger question that you had raised earlier, and I think MJ alluded to is the issue of how much it's going to cost for the remediation so that when the kids go over and turn on the drinking fountains, they can be assured that the water, in fact, is lead-free or lead-safe. And that's going to be an expensive issue, and members of the School District do not have a formal estimate of that cost. I think it's going to be a long-term budget item for the School District.
I would like to get from you, if I may, your analysis -- or priority list of schools that need remediation and list them. I know that we have, what, we have 200-and-whatever schools that we have?
List them in order of priority, where the problem is greater, where the -- and down -- down that way so that we can have -- the Councilwoman here, she has found out 98 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 that her daughter is drinking plastic water, or water in plastic things. And as a parent, she should have known that that was taking place. She -- in fact, she probably did not need to have her kid come in and tell her that. A letter should have been sent out by the principal of the school saying, We have a problem here, we want to alert you that we're taking care of it, and your kids are not being poisoned. Not to say anything, but she is a councilwoman and she has a forum that is bigger than any other parent, and she has not been informed, and neither have I. And that's troublesome, because I have the ability of calling you guys in here and asking these questions. Generally, parents don't have that.
So I have to be able to use this to inform parents, and I want to be able to inform parents as much as I can of what it is that we are facing, because it is troublesome and it is dangerous. So if you can give me that.
How the process is 99 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 that you're setting up and accomplishing and implementing, and then a list of the terms in schools in terms of priority, and what it is that you believe needs to be done in order to achieve a safe, healthy environment for our kids. If you can have that and send it over to us, I would really appreciate it.
We'll make that a priority for our technical committee that meets on this exact issue, so --
And, you know, I guess I would assume that the 50 schools that are going to be the first 50 in the remediation plan, I guess it wouldn't necessarily have to coincide with the schools in terms of the priority order or it could, but we'd also like to know what those first 50 schools are and when the other plan -- some type of anticipated date of when the other schools will be phased in.
I remember 1985, Doctor, when we had a hearing here on lead paint. And we had a series of landlords that really were bad landlords in West Philly.
Slumlords. 100 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635
Well, "slumlords," she called them. And we found that kids just picking at it and just putting it in, and that was hugely alarming because we found out that the extent of it in Philadelphia was huge. And we were able to begin with the Health Department and to begin dealing with some of that, and I think we've been quite successful. I don't think we've achieved total success, but we -- but we got -- we've come a huge long way. For this to happen -- for this to have been happening and now we know the thing that hits me is that this has been happening in the schools for so many years, and we don't know how many kids have been damaged by this. So many kids today are not being able to finish school, and it wasn't because they were dumb; it was because we poisoned them. And that's tragic when government has it in its hands the ability to fix things and it doesn't. And we're going to make sure that in the year 2000, we're going to fix this, and we're going to keep coming back to this Council until we 101 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 are sure that every school in this city doesn't have bottled water but has safe drinking water. Thank you, Commissioner.
We have our last panel. Vernard Johnson. Shelly Yanoff, Falaka Wright. (Witnesses come forward.)
You have heard today from the School District, the PFT, and the Water Department (sic). I'd like to hear your reactions because -- to what you heard. We don't want a restatement of the problem, but I'd like to hear what you want to see, what your reaction is to what you heard. Who wants to begin. Vernard?
Good afternoon. I'm Bill 25 Madeira, sitting in for Shelly Yanoff, from PCCY. 102 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 And we are the conveners of the Philadelphia Childhood Lead Poison Prevention Coalition. Ten years ago, as a result of some work concerning lead that we undertook, we cosponsored a conference on lead poisoning at the School District, and later this Council held hearings on the problems of lead, the silent epidemic. There has been much improvement in policies and practices as a result, and further improvement through the work of Vernard Johnson in calling attention to the problem in the Franklin Learning Center and many other communities. Nevertheless, the problem continues. As you have heard, lead causes permanent brain damage, non-remedial damage. It is the primary source of post-birth mental retardation. We are not here to review the devastating consequences of lead exposure, nor to speak to the elements in the consent agreement, nor to review history. But the idea that this issue was treated as a typical adversarial court suit between two advantaged parties instead of as a serious health hazard to the lives of non-advantaged children is of grave concern to 103 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 us. The major lead risks to children are to be found in our youngest children. That's when the brain is the most vulnerable. Therefore, we want to know: Were sites which house young children prioritized? Was the water in the Head Start and early childhood sites shut off and tested immediately? Is bottled water being brought into these sites? We urge that as a precautionary measure, this district not rely on the flush method in any of the schools built before '91 where very young children attend. We urge that bottled water be used in those sites henceforth. Were the schools with pregnant young women prioritized in this work? Was information about lead and water and the harm to pregnant woman and babies advertised in high schools? Were information sheets to parents and teens sent home, outlining steps to be taken? Clearly not. There are many such postures and 104 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 brochures available. Were they used? Were the teachers and the PFT Health and Welfare Fund staff provided information to assist and help monitor? It doesn't sound that way. Were they included in collaborative efforts? If the answer to any of these questions is no, we urge that it be changed. Schools with our youngest children or with pregnant young women must be provided safe water, and safety from lead must be prioritized. Parents and students must be provided fact sheets and information about the dangers and steps they can take for protection. We understand that lead is an extremely difficult problem to solve. It is expensive and difficult and requires more of an investment than any local government has available. We to have been working on it for years and we do see progress, much of it actively supported and lead by this Council, but there's so much more to do. At times, the problems of lead are like an onion. The more you peel, the more you cry, but not half as much as cry when you talk to a 105 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 child whose body and mind and future have been damaged because of lead poisoning. We urge you to cause there to be created an oversight committee of the teachers, parents and the school and City administrations to publicly and regularly report on progress. This isn't about lawsuits or assessment of who's right or wrong; it's about who's hurt. And as is too often the case, it's the children who bear the consequences of our neglect. We, therefore, urge the Council to stay on this case to protect children from further harm. Thank you.
In addition to the prepared testimony, I'd just like to say that what I've heard this afternoon seems almost overwhelming in the level of disagreements and intricacies of whatever it would take to solve the problem, and it would seem almost as though only by having ongoing hearings and ongoing monitoring of this problem is there any hope of it being solved permanently. And now I want to -- 106 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635
This committee will just recess. It will not -- we will leave from here with a date certain for the next hearing so that we know what we need to have something in our hands. Vernard?
Yes. My name's Vernard Johnson, and I'm the Executive Director of Healthy Family Healthy Life, and I'm also the chairperson of the Philadelphia HealthyStart Community Consortium. And I'd just like to start out by saying we think that the issue around lead in public schools is far more widespread than just the water, and we believe that you need to continue to monitor the way encapsulated work has been done.
We certainly believe that it's more widespread than in the water, Councilman Ortiz. And to use the Franklin Learning Center as an example --
That's right. 107 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635
-- when that school -- when the officials of the School District finally realized that there was a serious problem with dust in the building, we did move towards encapsulation. But we're concerned right now about the quality of the maintenance that's taking place on a daily basis. And unless there's been some improvement since '96, we don't believe that the maintenance staff of the School District has had the proper training that will allow them to maintain all the encapsulation work that has taken place. And we also want to remind the Councilman, with all due respect, that in '96, we were told that there would be a new Franklin Learning Center in a short while, and we're going into 2001. So I just want to remind you of that. I'd also like to remind you further that at that time, the union that sat here today was very much in opposition to the advocacy work that was taking place by parents and, at that time, students of the Franklin Learning Center. So it's in that vein that we look at this screening for young children for lead poisoning 108 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 that's produced by the Center of Disease Control in 1997. It really talks about statewide efforts but I think we can look at localizing it. And what they're suggesting is that State health officials should form an advisory committee to develop a statewide plan -- we're calling for local plan. The committee should include child health-care providers as well as representatives from local health departments, managed care organizations, Medicaid private insurance organizations, and the community. And it seems to me that when the union was speaking, and it seems to me that even when Health Commissioner, who I have respect for, but that when he was speaking about this task force, that the big piece that was left out, sir, was the community, was the parents.
And the parent community. And so we're calling for an advisory committee that's made up of all of those entities and whatever other entities that they have but also includes the parent community. 109 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635
Thank you, sir. We've asked the Health Commissioner in a meeting that the Philadelphia Network for the Public Health had with him back in -- several weeks ago, I'll say it that way. We've asked the commissioner to work with the community in developing public service announcements, educational brochures, educational curriculum, whatever is proper, to work with us, to develop those kind of resources that we could reach out into the community with. We don't think that this is just a School District problem, but we think that the Health Department of this town has a public responsibility to make families, communities, children, parents aware of the dangers of lead poison, be it comes through water, be it comes through soil, be it comes through the dust in their home. And I'd like to say this, sir, is that I've talked to Dick Tobin about this that I'm getting ready to say now -- as a matter of fact, 110 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 it was Dick who trained myself and people from my organization around this whole question about lead. And I'd just like to say that years ago, we thought that children were eating paint chips.
And we thought that's how they were getting exposed and poisoned. More recently, we realized that the breathing in of lead dust is dangerous. We think that the lead in soil is also a concern. We're concerned about houses and other properties being torn down in this town without the proper inspections and then left to lay while children play in it and then they play in the dust.
Think of the blight program going on, tearing down all of those houses across the City.
To get to the water, I would suggest that Council not only consider calling the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline where -- and that number is 1-800 426-4791 -- because we're disagreeing at this point on what is safe and what is not safe to drink. I got information from that hotline, a representative that suggested 111 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 that 0.015 milligrams per liter of water, anything above that is not safe. And we also got that to 4 14 parts per billion was not safe, and that at 15 5 parts per billion, we should not be drinking the water. Now, the Health Department, we don't agree on -- yes, sir?
In the next hearing that we have, we're going to make sure that the regional director of the EPA is here.
So I just wanted to say -- and not to be in conflict with people from the Health Department, who, I believe, are trying to do a good job, but I just want to say that we've moved from eating the chips to realizing it's dust, that we now need to look at if it's or if 20 it's 15. You know, our position is zero tolerance, and so any amount of lead in the blood for us is too much, so I'm not going to quibble about if it's 15 or if it's 20, but we need to be looking at that. Monitoring is a question for us. You 112 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 know, I've never seen a chair be able to hold down the button on a drinking fountain. I just don't know how you do that.
I figured -- you know, I'm not an engineer, but I don't know how you take a chair and put it on that button and expect it to be held down are. Nor do I know how you get enough pressure on that button with duct tape or any other kind of tape that will allow that fountain to run. We are in the school every day. I invite you to go to Tilden Middle School.
I invite you to go to Pattison Elementary School. I just invite you to go talk to the staff people there. I invite you to go to the cafeteria at Tilden where students are buying bottled water, that -- buying bottled water at $1 a bottle. So this 4 ounces of water, 113 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 in my opinion, and evidently in Estelle Richman's opinion, who we met with last week around this issue, if children are supposed to have eight glasses of water a day --
-- then the School District has some responsibility to provide them with whatever the equivalent is. How do you move toward that eight glasses? They have the responsibility to provide them with that. And with a four-ounce Dixie cup or a four-ounce fruit cup, we're not moving it that way. Somebody's making money, somebody's making money. And so I'll leave it that way. Monitoring. We can't leave it to them to monitor themselves, Councilman Ortiz.
From the words of Commissioner Richman, they just hired -- whatever "just" means -- one person to work for the Health Department to monitor 269 schools, person.
And we're suggesting to 114 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 you, Councilman, that one person cannot monitor at o'clock in the morning or o'clock in the 4 morning or 6 o'clock probably more than one or two 5 schools. And so monitoring is a concern. Since this has been going on for ten years, we're calling for the universal testing of all students. So a sense of -- and we think that the Health Department and the City of Philadelphia should bear the cost. Since Councilwoman Miller suggested that her child was in elementary school ten years ago and is now in high school, we may now have to do some bone tests, not blood tests. But we submit to you that children who have been in these schools, that the Health Department in this town has a responsibility to cry out to those families, however they find them, and we're willing to sit with them. We have a nurse, we have a medical doctor, the medical Dr. Tsou, who's willing to sit with them and help design and develop a public service approach that every parent in this town and every young adult now, 18, 19, 20 years old who were in those schools back then should be about the business of going and having themselves tested and their 115 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 unborn child tested or their new baby tested. That's how we feel. And -- and I'm winding down. You know, we should be developing a plan that this cross -- that this effort, and we think that we got good people in Philadelphia. We don't have to go to Boston all the time -- there's something going on with Boston and Philly. But anyway, we don't have to always go to Boston to find out what's going on. We think that we --
I want to know what's going on in Philadelphia; I don't want to go to Boston.
We think that a curriculum needs to be designed that cuts across whatever it is that they're teaching in the schools, so that if it's a health curriculum, if it's a science curriculum, we think that their plans should include something that allows the teacher to stand in front of students and talk about how important it is to wash your hands every day of the week. So we're also calling on the School District to allow students, before they eat, to wash their hands. The younger the 116 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 student, the more important, but a good hand-washing, a vigorous hand-washing program is something that we're calling on. And I'll leave it that way. I think I made point best, you know, as best I can make it now. And what I'd like to do is say this. And there's a parent with me, Kelly Shepherd, Miss Kelly Shepherd. We have too many children who are living in homes that have this problem. And when the blood level goes micrograms, I think it is, 13 of lead per deciliter of blood and a child is 14 detected, then the Health Department goes out to 15 that home and works with that parent. And they do a good job of doing whatever they do, they do a good job at. Works with that parent, to show that parent how to take care of that problem, small problems, how to take care of that problem. If that problem's taken care of, the blood level should go down, it shouldn't be going up. And if it's going up, the Health Department wants to know where your children are hanging out. If they're hanging with grandmom, does grandmom have the problem? If they're hanging on 117 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 the lot, is there a problem on the lot, are they a jumping on the mattresses, is that the problem? In Miss Shepherd's case, the only place that's different where her children go, the youngest child's blood level had been going down, the oldest child's going up. The only place that's different is that the oldest child is going to another school than the younger child. So, you know, she can speak on that if you'll allow her, but the only thing I'm saying is that -- we got to stop denying. And I'll say this to you, with all candor, is that the School District has been covering and covering and covering over this. I think that when they try to do it right, they find themselves covering. If you remember, they denied that there was a problem at the Franklin Learning Center and that we had to come to this Council with Council President-then Street, who's now the mayor, who appropriated some dollars that allowed us to go out hire an independent consultant that came from out there in Eddiestone, out in the (unintelligible) property, who came in and found out that the levels of lead in the building far 118 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 exceeded anything that HUD would accept on top of lockers, in crawl spaces. So the School District, Well, why you worried about on top of lockers? Well, because kids throw their book bags on top of lockers, and when they pull them down, the dust falls over their head. So this environmental office of this School district has a tendency to cover over the fact. And so we believe that this Council has a responsibility, that the City of Philadelphia has a responsibility to monitor them. And then I'll finish by saying this, is that if you're going to give $45 million -- let me back off and say it this way, that we do not believe that this health department comes in front of this City Council ever in the ten years that we've been doing health care in this town and asked for an adequate amount of funding, we don't believe it. That if you ask Dick Tobin -- and we haven't talked about this, but if you ask Dick Tobin, who pays for the majority of his staff's salaries, it's other than the City of Philadelphia, it's probably HUD. If you ask -- if you go to any one of those departments inside the 119 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES.
000635 Health Department, the Office of Maternal and Child Health, if you look at their staff, and I'm just mentioning them 'cause I'm kind of familiar with them, they live on grants. If they don't get a grant, they can't function. They can't say something that their boss tell them not to, so I'm saying it: They need more money from this City Council. Now, if Council is going to give $45 million, million now, 20 million later, to 12 the Gas Works, understanding the character of the 13 gas company, understanding all of that debate that 14 went on here -- 15
Oh, lord. Well, if 18 you're going to give them 68, if you're going to 19 build two stadiums, if we're going to acquire the 20 land, then give this health department what they 21 need to operate. So if he -- not he, but if Dr. 22 Tsou needs more money to go out and monitor what's 23 going on in the schools -- and there's 24 Councilwoman Blackwell. Hi, Councilwoman 25 Blackwell. 120 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 And I just want to say this. People thought we were crazy for coming to this Council with lead, they thought we were crazy for coming here with the issue of Ritalin, and if it wasn't for Councilwoman Blackwell, you know, following us and finding out if we were telling the truth or not, they would label us as crazy. And I just want to say this Councilwoman Blackwell's, as I understand it, brother is in the city of Baltimore and he does work as it relates to children and lead.
I've known you since 1980 and I never thought you were crazy.
Well, you know, you represented me one time, you know? And all saying -- and I want to close with this -- is that we are all here for the kids, right? And for the school families. When we did the Franklin Learning Center piece, we were concerned about the teachers as we was concerned about the children, and we still are. And so I think that if this commissioner comes forward and says -- and the School District comes forward and says, We need a 121 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 few more dollars so that we can monitor this thing properly, then I think that Council can consider that.
And, you know, I think so. We have a law in the books -- and, Dr. Tsou, I think you should look at it. It was passed in 1989, 1990. Carol Rogers was here and it was a law that said that staffing levels and service levels at City health centers had to be maintained at a certain -- set at a certain level and if you go below that, the City, the Mayor and the Administration had to bring them up to those levels, and that was passed and signed by the Mayor. And that has not been taken off the books, so the Administration has a responsibility, has a responsibility to come before this Council and ask for appropriations to maintain the health centers at the levels set within those levels of services that are in that legislation. Miss -- who's next?
Miss Kelly, but can I say -- I've just been told that the School District incurring the costs for the one person that we 122 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 talked about. Now, we got a broke school district, so somewhere along the line, we need to -- Dr. Tsou need to be (inaudible).
And let me say this, really, is that this health department is responsible for the care -- let me back up. Private schools are public schools. We got a widespread problem there that we're not even looking at.
Parochial schools -- they're our children too. They got old buildings too. 'Cause they have Catholic old school buildings don't mean they immune to the drinking water. We got a serious problem. Thanks, Councilman.
Microphone closer, 123 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 please.
Good evening. My name is Kelly Shepherd. I'm here as the parent of four children that are in the school system. My youngest son Joshua, in June of '99, his lead level was at 21, at which time the City came out to my home and they inspected. Upon Joshua entering the school system in September, his level was down to 14. My oldest son, which is 11 years old, I was told that I didn't have to have him tested as well as my other two children that are 9 and 10, at which time James had a physical August the 28th of this year, and his lead was fine. Upon having another -- well, more blood work done in October of this year, the doctor called me with some concerns because his lead level was up to 13.4 at this point. I spoke to Vernard about it because I had some concerns only because I was told that my older kids didn't have to be tested. So now I'm going through the process of having the other children tested, and I was kind of upset because James was still drinking water in his school, and 124 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 no bottled water was given out.
This is Beeber Middle School. In reading an article in the paper, Beeber --
Could board take note of that, please, the board representatives?
I read the article in the Sunday Inquirer, which stated that at Beeber, their testing had been done, and out of 127 outlets, 16, which is equal to 13 percent of the fountains, tested for 20 ppb. I called the school and I spoke with the principal and I asked her if any other faucets had been cut off or anything and she said no. I also got in touch with some of the parents at the school for the Home and School meeting, and they knew nothing about it. I called my elementary school, Overbrook Elementary, where my other children, that Home and School; they knew nothing about it. Nothing is going out, no one knows anything. 125 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 I am now buying about four cases of water so that I can provide my children with water so they can have water during the day. Sometimes -- well, before this happened, my son James, I told him he could not drink the water, and that was that. And he said, Well, if I don't buy anything from out the machine, I don't have anything to drink. Sometimes the milk is sour, what am I supposed to do? So now I provide all my children with bottles of water, eight ounces, I give them two each, and that's what they have to drink. And then sitting here today and in listening to everything that's being said, I think that I'll just continue that because I don't know who to believe or what to believe.
Well, we're trying to find out who to believe, but let me tell you something, we're going to get down to the bottom of it. Beeber, you said?
Beeber Wynnefield? 126 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635
We have no numbers on Beeber Wynnefield as to a date of pre-sampling, inspection date of sampling, sample report, we have nothing on Beeber Wynnefield. So I guess Beeber Wynnefield was not tested. I think -- is there somebody in the School District that can explain that? Because I have here a chart from your from your district provided to me by the Philadelphia School District -- oh, by the EPA, sorry, "Lead in Drinking Water Sample Results," and I have Beeber, Beeber Wynnefield. And I have -- for other schools, I have the date of the pre-sampling, the date of the sampling, the sample report, number of outlets sampled, number of outlets exceeding ppbs. 18 Is there anybody there? 19
Right. 127 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 STENOGRAPHER: I'm sorry, what was the name?
Assistant general counsel. I have the October test results that will be going to the EPA -- that went to the EPA today, actually mailed out. And it says here for Beeber Junior -- they call it "Beeber Junior High," which may be -- but it's the same school.
Yes. It was -- the pre-sampling inspection was June 30, 2000. What's known as the "initial sampling event" occurred on July 28, 2000. The initial sampling event data was received --
Beeber and Beeber Wynnefield. Well. . . Well, then I cannot help you because I do not have the results for Beeber annex, in which case, I will -- 128 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635
Right. And it's not the annex. The annex is further down. I'm talking about the main school on 58th and Malvern.
Okay, I don't have it by date, but I will check the results to make sure that we have done all -- (Addressing colleagues) We have done that school, correct?
Yes, I do understand those concerns. I'm a parent myself. Thank you. Sorry I couldn't be 129 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 helpful.
Good evening. My name is Falaka Wright, and I'm with the Concern Parents of Philadelphia, a committee that I formed on my own, because I couldn't get any help from the District, nor the EPA, as far as the problems with the lead is concerned. I would first like to thank my committeeman, Councilmember Ortiz, because I've been dealing with this since last year, and you have been the first elected official who actually stood up and said, Hey, we're getting to have some immediate hearings on this issue because children's lives are at risk, and that's what we need to stay focused on. I would secondly like to thank Tom Ferrick of the Philadelphia Inquirer because he was my only means, number one, as being a human being; two, as a parent; and third, as a citizen, of even knowing that there was a problem in the Philadelphia School District.
We seem to -- a lot 130 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 of times, we seem to find out things from the Inquirer or from the Daily News that we should -- government should let us know about.
And the rape cases and so on in terms of the Police Department, we didn't know anything about that until the Inquirer said it, because every time they come here, everything is fine.
Yes. And Tom Ferrick has been very helpful to me throughout this process. I've been in touch with Bonnie Smith of the EPA. At that time, I was with the State legislature's Office. She called me back, she was very hostile with me and told me there wasn't a problem. I then contacted Jackie Sparkman of the superintendent's office, same thing. The only reason why people become aware of this problem now is because Mr. Ferrick's article finally hit the front page. These are articles that he just started publishing; these are articles was in the Inquirer since last year. The EPA, along with the School District, along with the Health Department, as far 131 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 as I'm concerned, are negligent, contributory negligence, because I have the right to know. The Congress felt I had a right to know when they passed legislation years ago that gave the EPA 6 the authority to monitor and enforce that these 7 tests were being done. I have the bill right 8 here, Councilman Ortiz. To enforce that this 9 procedure would be done and it would be done 10 expeditiously, not still in the year 2000, and 11 we're still talking money. That's number one. 12 Number two, the outside contractors that the District hired, which is the Keating Corporation, I have a report here from the Keating Corporation where they admitted to a lot of the samples were mislabeled or lost. They had to take their personnel and retrain them and in doing so. So how do you have a corporation that's supposed to be, you know, held to a standard, who's losing in this labeling test samples? So, therefore, we're not even sure really about the samples, the test. They openly admitted it, I have the report right here.
Can you give a copy of that? 132 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635
You know, I understand what you're saying. Liability is something that we don't talk about, but it is something that if a parent can -- if a parent can say that a kid has been harmed through a problem that they have encountered in school and the school system knew about that and did not fix it, it's scary what the liability that can be ensued from there. Yes, ma'am, finish your statement.
I'm going to wrap it up. As I said, I think it's horrendous that I had to rely on the media to inform me as to my children's well-being. That's an insult. And as we all know, whenever the media is involved in any other situation, they've always been considered to speculate; so, therefore, they want facts. Well, how can you get facts when the EPA doesn't want to hand you over a test result, the School District is saying there's not a problem, the principals and staff -- the staff, teachers never even knew that they were in grave danger. That's negligence, okay? 133 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 And because of their negligence and their lack of even wanting to tell the truth about these things, I had to go out and consult with the environmental group, one being Clean Water Action, another being High Tech Waste Recycling, to help me to understand because, no, my degree is not in biomedical, scientific, or environmental issues, okay? But you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure it out. The facts are in, lead is bad, get rid of it, okay? So because of me consulting with these groups, they submitted a proposal to the School District in which there is a bill that State legislators passed, Act 29, which is considered the Guaranteed Energy Savings Act that will help the District in remedying this problem. There's monies available underneath this act. It's almost like a weatherization program, if you would, where people with their houses, when they get certain things, because done when Congress passed this bill, they knew that these things would -- this process would be very expensive and that's why there's monies available on the federal level and the State level. So when they are talking about 134 11/20/00 PUB. HEALTH AND SAFETY, RES. 000635 money, I have so many documents, I mean, that strictly says that this money will be appropriated as needed under the review of the EPA. So, again, I would like to thank you, Councilman Ortiz, because --
Okay, I want to thank you for sticking with it and making us aware. Thank you very much, all of you, for coming and having the patience. This committee and this resolution stands in recess until January 17, 2001, at 10 a.m. (Adjourned at 5:45 p.m.) - - - 135 C E R T I F I C A T E I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing proceedings of the Council of the City of Philadelphia of Monday, November 20, 2000, were reported fully and accurately by me, and that this is a correct transcript of same. RE: JOINT COUNCIL COMMITTEES ON PUBLIC HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AND PUBLIC SAFETY RESOLUTION NO. 000635 __________________________________, JOSEPHINE CARDILLO, Registered Professional Reporter