Burlington High School needs to reopen (without building F). Science shows there is no material danger in buildings A-E and the harm to students barred from school is significant.
Background
Background
The Vermont Department of Health and State toxicologist Sarah Vose and DEC Program Manager Trish Coppolino pressured BHS to close, an extreme action not warranted by the facts of the case. The PCB thresholds they used are at least 10 times more conservative than those recommended by all other professionals and regulatory agencies in the U.S. and around the world. The Vermont thresholds are not regulations and they are not peer-reviewed by scientists.
The Vermont Department of Health and State toxicologist Sarah Vose and DEC Program Manager Trish Coppolino pressured BHS to close, an extreme action not warranted by the facts of the case. The PCB thresholds they used are at least 10 times more conservative than those recommended by all other professionals and regulatory agencies in the U.S. and around the world. The Vermont thresholds are not regulations and they are not peer-reviewed by scientists.
The EPA did not close our school. This was a Vermont decision, with almost no precedent anywhere in America.
The EPA did not close our school. This was a Vermont decision, with almost no precedent anywhere in America.
The effect on 970 teenagers is horrendous. They are shut in their homes (as they have been since March) without peers, socialization, easy education, or the social supports a school system brings.
The effect on 970 teenagers is horrendous. They are shut in their homes (as they have been since March) without peers, socialization, easy education, or the social supports a school system brings.
Medical risk is so small as to be negligent. Activities we all participate in every day, such as driving or eating tuna fish, have greater risk.
Medical risk is so small as to be negligent. Activities we all participate in every day, such as driving or eating tuna fish, have greater risk.
It’s hard not to draw the conclusion that the State is more concerned with the threat of a future lawsuit than the very real and actual pain our kids are in TODAY.
It’s hard not to draw the conclusion that the State is more concerned with the threat of a future lawsuit than the very real and actual pain our kids are in TODAY.
The hundreds of parents, teachers, and administrators who make up OpenBHS demand that Sarah Vose and the Department of Health use standards that are fair and commonplace. We ask that the Agency of Education join us in our effort to balance risk scientifically and soon welcome teenagers back in our safe school buildings.
The hundreds of parents, teachers, and administrators who make up OpenBHS demand that Sarah Vose and the Department of Health use standards that are fair and commonplace. We ask that the Agency of Education join us in our effort to balance risk scientifically and soon welcome teenagers back in our safe school buildings.
Vermont? Really?
Vermont? Really?
The graphs above shows the scale of Vermont's BHS decision relative to other responsible nations.
Did You Know?
Did You Know?
The Departments of Environmental Conservation and VT Health Department themselves, when reviewing similar PCB numbers at Champlain Elementary School, did not shut the school down. They said there was "no need for further action" beyond replacing light fixtures and cleaning hard surfaces.
The Departments of Environmental Conservation and VT Health Department themselves, when reviewing similar PCB numbers at Champlain Elementary School, did not shut the school down. They said there was "no need for further action" beyond replacing light fixtures and cleaning hard surfaces.
If you are a teacher or staff member at BHS, OpenBHS will be hosting Zoom calls with doctors in Burlington for your medical questions. The term "PCB" can be scary. It is important that you have access to professional medical resources whose objective is accuracy. We are talking to your unions about setting these up.
If you are a teacher or staff member at BHS, OpenBHS will be hosting Zoom calls with doctors in Burlington for your medical questions. The term "PCB" can be scary. It is important that you have access to professional medical resources whose objective is accuracy. We are talking to your unions about setting these up.
