By JUSTIN MCCALLUM

Questions over the closure and toxicity of a local Norwood school will be addressed at an upcoming public meeting that will determine the next steps for exposed students, parents and teachers. The news comes amid an introduction to a bill seeking further transparency on the health safety at public schools.

The state Department of Health will be there to follow up on the toxic effects of PS 51 The Bronx New School, where students were exposed to the high levels of trichloroethylene (TCE), a cancer-causing carcinogen, for up to six years. But teachers could have been exposed even more if they had taught at the school from 1993 to its closure in 2011.

The meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. on April 24 at St Phillip Neri’s Church at 3025 Grand Concourse.

Helene Hartman-Kutnowsky of Community Board 7’s sanitation and environmental committee has been pushing for more outreach to notify former PS 51 students of the health risk they might face.

For nearly 20 years, TCE was known to have wafted into the Jerome Avenue school 10 times the legal limit, lingering unsuspectingly into classrooms, bathrooms and faculty offices, according to a state DOH report. While investigators theorized TCE could be coming from soil moisture, testing of the building showed that a high concentration of the chemical was found inside the first floor cafeteria. The state Department of Environmental Conservation later ordered the school closed, designating it a “potential inactive hazardous waste site.”

Many former students were unaware that the school was closed or why, leaving Hartman-Kutnowsky to circulate fliers.

She hopes the state DOH recommends a doctor whose background includes the treatment of those exposed to harmful chemicals. Long-term exposure to TCE has also caused effects on the central nervous system, nasal passages, and pregnant women. In one alleged case, a 19-year teacher’s aide sued the city Department of Education for TCE exposure, claiming she suffered from “pancreatic and liver cancer, mental and emotional injuries and distress, and a loss of quality and enjoyment of life,” as a result.

With over two decades at their old location, the abrupt condemning of The Bronx New School came as a shock and led to outcry in the community. Much of the unrest came after parents and community members learned that the city allegedly stalled the closure for six months, having learned about the chemicals in January 2011.

After nearly two years of fighting, a report was released last summer outlining the harmful impact of students attending the school, once a repair shop in the ‘40s and ‘50s and lamp factory from 1957 to 1991. Still, many feel their questions have been rebuffed by state DOH.

Alan Gary, a Norwood resident and father of a student at the school told The New York Daily News, “We don’t want money – we want justice.”

Councilman Fernando Cabrera, will introduce a bill aimed at preventing another PS 51 incident from happening again. His bill would require the city Department of Education to release reports in a more timely manner.

A general community board meeting will follow at 6:30 p.m. on April 29 at Serviam Gardens. For more information on Community Board 7 meetings and schedules, call (718) 933-5650 or visit www.bronxcb7.info.–David Cruz contributed to reporting.

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of the story erroneously reported that P.S. 51 remains closed. The school was relocated while the building remains closed. 

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.