Asbestos causes school woes in Tempe, Arizona and Albany, New York
July 24th, 2008 Mike Evans
According to an article from Tempe, Arizona, the Tempe Union High School District will retest all of its campuses for asbestos because administrators are unable to find documents outlining the removal of asbestos 15 years ago. In May 2008, asbestos was found in blocks in an outside canopy structure at Corona del Sol High School in Tempe, according to a school administrator. Parents noticed dumpsters and workers wearing hazardous-material gear outside the school, according to parent DeeAnne Clowes. Clowes said a school adminstrator told her a couple of “hot spots” were found.
Meanwhile, an Albany, New York article reports that the Thomas O’Brien Academy of Science and Technology, a magnet elementary school in the Albany City School District, will be closed for the upcoming school year because of asbestos problems. When the school year closed in June, 2008, work crews began window replacement and a small amount of asbestos remediation. “In doing this and other work, they found there were places that we believed to be remediated in late 1980s that were not remediated for asbestos,” said Ron Lesko, a spokesperson for the school district.
Lesko said air samples were taken at the school, but none tested positive for asbestos. “There is a perception of asbestos and health risks. We don’t want to take any possibility of putting anyone at risk and want to protect students and staff,” said Lesko. “We will remediate the building properly and have work complete for 2009-2010.”
By law, all schools are required to adhere to guidelines set by the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA). The provision passed by Congress in 1986 requires local education agencies to inspect their schools for asbestos-containing building material and prepare management plans to prevent or reduce asbestos hazards.
The law requires an original inspection and follow-up inspections of asbestos-containing material every three years. An asbestos management plan must be maintained and kept at the school as well.
Asbestos has been known to cause malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer, other types of aasbestos cancer, and asbestosis.
Any person who has suffers from a disease caused by asbestos, or who has a family member with asbestos-caused disease, is invited to obtain more information at the Mesothelioma Attorney Alliance’s website. This site is provided as a service by an alliance of law firms across the United States who offer legal representation to people injured by asbestos-caused diseases. You are also invited to use the Free Mesothelioma Lawsuit Review form to obtain a no-obligation review of your potential asbestos lawsuit.
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