Toxic PCBs Festered at This School for 8 Years as Students Grew Sicker

"The EPA and others warned about potential contamination as far back as 2014. But Washington state law does not require schools or health departments to act on those findings."

"MONROE, Wash. — For Michelle Leahy, it started with headaches, inflamed rashes on her arms and legs, and blisters in her mouth.

Some students and staff at Sky Valley Education Center, an alternative public school in Monroe, also had strange symptoms: cognitive problems, skin cysts, girls as young as 6 suddenly hitting puberty.

Leahy, like others, eventually became too sick to return to campus. She developed uterine cancer as her other symptoms escalated."

Lulu Ramadan reports for the Seattle Times January 23, 2022, co-published with ProPublica.