The Virginian-Pilot
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CHESAPEAKE
Crestwood Middle School is open today after new tests came back clean for elevated levels of asbestos.
Ten tests performed Tuesday found that the air at Crestwood was once again safe for students and faculty to breathe, school division spokesman Tom Cupitt said.
Student were evacuated from Crestwood on Tuesday afternoon and were kept home Wednesday after a test found that the amount of asbestos in the air was too high.
Workers were performing renovation work on the aging school’s heating and air-conditioning system last week when they uncovered pipes with asbestos on them.
Asbestos was a material commonly used in building schools in between the 1940s and the 1970s. While it remains relatively harmless if undisturbed, once asbestos material is damaged, it can release fibers that have been linked to different forms of lung cancer and other lung disease.
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OH MY!
We are all going to die! The only way not to breath asbestos fibers is to hold your breath! See how well that works, trust it does work. Fact of the matter is most of your homes are probaly contaminated with the stuff and you don't even know it. What now?
What did they do to clean it up?
This article and investigation by the Pilot are far from complete.
Old asbestos insulation is ok to leave in place if it is not disturbed or falling apart. However once disturbed, as apparently happened with this HVAC work, fibers become air born. There are very strict regulations regarding asbestos abatement,cleanup, and testing. What has been done to make sure the school is safe? Has a HAZMAT team properly sealed of any remaining asbestos and thoroughly cleaned up the school? No mention is made in the article other than the air is now clean. Excuse me for my lack of confidence in the school system doing the right thing.
A Few Common Misconceptions
There is still asbestos in many schools across the country. The EPA has strict guidelines on checking it, maintaining it in a condition so that it does NOT get distrubed, and how it is to be removed when the time comes. Obviously, something failed here. For what it is worth, there are a number of safety factors built into the levels that are considered to be "unsafe," so that in reality, the risk is still minimal. The fact of the matter is that the risk from a small exposure as was likely the case here is pretty much nil; the article yesterday stated that one out of several samples came back "high." That does NOT mean that this was ok, as obviously things went wrong here. ...but it is not likely nearly as bad as it sounds. There is probably more risk from being exposed to significant amount of asbestos when standing by the side of the road (yes, some brakes are still made out of asebstos, and asbestos is actually still used in some products, it was never completely banned). Anyway, sorry if that comes off like a lecture, but hopefully that gives a little more background, I have a little background in this stuff...
No
There is no legal requirement to remove asbestos containing material from schools, unless it is damaged or friable. There IS a legal requirement, however to have identified it and maintain it in a safe condition, so there are no surprises when doing renovations. In re-reading the articles, there are lots of unanswered questions, and it could be that everything was done properly. One positive sample out of the many that should be taken to monitor a job is not necessarily a reason for alarm...could be just a statistical outlier. They did the right thing by re-sampling. Could be the school officials were just being ultra-conservative in evacuating the school. Keep in mind that everyone breathes asbestos every day...it's everywhere. The article never says just HOW high the sample was compared to background. I'm reserving judgment (not that it matters what I think).
Why???
I thought it had been taken out of all schools? Nobody has explained what's it still doing in a school period!!!
Why???
I thought it had been talen out of all schools? Nobody has explained what's it still doing in a school period!!!
I would not send my child or work there.
I would not send my child or work there. These people are not experts in any way shape or form.
Explain me this
Can someone explain to me how one day the air is unsafe and the next day it's ok? See to me that the asbestos would have to be removed from the building to rid the problem.