For the sake of full disclosure, I represent several families against a nursery school that is mercury contaminated. The school used to be a thermometer factory and it appears as if many children and teachers were exposed to mercury. Blood and urine tests confirm exposure.

Since this case became very public, other similar facilities have become the focus of scrutiny. And all of this makes me wonder why it is that there are no laws that prohibit these kinds of things from happening.

The term "brownfields" has been in vogue over the last 20 years. In fact, I still update a book that I co-authored concerning this subject. It generally refers to the re-use of contaminated properties. No question: that is a good idea.

But we must make sure that no one becomes ill as a result of these re-uses. And it appears that we need to take a closer look at day care centers in this regard.

Day care centers do not require a huge amount of space and are located where ever it is that there are working parents. This includes places where contaminated properties are being recycled.

We have to make sure that day care centers are completely free and clear of contaminated substances that can make our children become ill. Remember that because children are developing at a rapid pace, health affects for them can be pronounced.

Day care center operators must be required to do a thorough search of a property's historic uses to evaluate whether any hazardous substances might remain before the centers open for business.

Every state should have laws that require this level of analysis, which must be done by an independent professional and reviewed by a government agency. If contamination is discovered, the law should require that it be adequately addressed to the government's satisfaction.

And if the contamination is going to remain at supposedly "safe" levels, every parent must be fully informed of this fact. The law should dictate the type of notice required and the manner in which notice must be communicated to the parents.

Many areas are seeing an explosion in the number of public schools that are being constructed. I see no reason why the same kind of law should not apply to public schools as well.

After all, these are our children that we are talking about. In my opinion, we should not settle for anything less than the best for them.

The information provided in this column is written by Stuart Lieberman,a practicing environmental attorney, and is for general information purposes only. It is not legal advice and should not be used in place of legal advice.

Stuart Lieberman, Esq., and IRED.Com, Inc., will not accept any responsibilty for any reliance on the information in this column or any damages whatsoever resulting from reading this column.