St. Mary’s High School in Rutherford, New Jersey has been detected with traces of asbestos that has raised questions and concerns regarding the safety of children in school. Asbestos has been found in ceiling of the locker room of wrestling team.
Officials believe that asbestos might have become air borne when the bathroom located above the locker was renovated in the past. After this discovery the EPA officials were called in who found traces of asbestos on a steam pipe in the high school cafeteria too. The pipe is said to be wrapped in asbestos and asbestos became loose when it was scrubbed after a leak in November 2006. At that time the officials believed that all asbestos has been removed from the school premises but it seems they were wrong and now their worst fears have been confirmed.
The officials have promised that the loose asbestos will be removed and the locker room will be cleaned properly following the EPA guidelines for asbestos removal. Air samples have also been collected at the high school but it will take a period of almost 6 weeks for results to be announced.
The parents of children coming to St. Mary’s High School were informed about this situation in a letter that was send by the parish last week. Many of the parents have raised concerns that even though the school authorities were aware of asbestos presence in school, yet they did not notify them.
The school authorities have promised that that they will ensure proper asbestos removal. They have also tried to over come their deficiencies that were earlier pointed out by EPA inspectors by coming up with a appropriate management plan for asbestos as required by the law and getting the school maintenance and custodial staff trained for handling asbestos.
Asbestos is a mineral fiber commonly used for insulation and fireproofing. However, it is a deadly toxic and its exposure can lead to various diseases especially mesothelioma cancer that can result in death.
