Asbestos abatement begins at florida elementary school

Clay County school leaders have decided to take an important step in protecting the health of students, by having asbestos removed from Keystone Elementary School. Ross Tholand, of Clay County Schools said, “We’re removing some transite-paneled walls and replacing those with concrete-block walls and new doors.” Transite is a type of paneled wall product which contains asbestos. Due to the health risks involved in asbestos exposure, work with or around the substance is tightly regulated and there are several laws and requirements that control how asbestos-containing materials and buildings must be handled. These requirements tend to significantly increase the costs of any renovation or demolition involving asbestos. In the case of the Keystone Elementary School and other buildings which contain asbestos materials, two factors can significantly increase the costs. The first is that the asbestos must be treated with extreme caution, and special procedures must be used when handling or removing the substance. This requires licensed professionals who are trained to handle asbestos, and often means tight school budgets are stretched even further by the need to hire licensed asbestos contractors. The second factor is that disposal of asbestos-containing construction waste is up to three times more expensive than disposal of non-hazardous waste, due to the necessity of disposing of the material at a landfill that is equipped to handle hazardous materials. If asbestos waste must be removed, its disposal pushes up the costs of renovations hugely. The issue of asbestos in schools is likely to become an increasingly widespread problem. Asbestos was used in a variety of building materials between the 1940s and 1980s, due to the substance’s excellence as a fire-retardant, insulator, and acoustic barrier. As asbestos-containing materials age, repairs and renovations may cause disturbance to asbestos materials. These types of disturbances can potentially present a health hazard if proper procedures are not followed to limit exposure. To deal with asbestos in schools, the EPA requires that all schools that contain asbestos maintain a management plan that details the location of asbestos, its condition, and the measures taken to prevent exposure. In schools where asbestos is present, parents and school employees can request to see a copy of the asbestos management plan at any time. All friable asbestos has already been removed from Keystone Elementary School, according to Ross Tholand, and the non-friable asbestos which remains is inspected annually. “These [non-friable asbestos materials] are perfectly harmless as long as you don’t take a sand belt and sander to them or drill into them and create a dust. If you create a dust, then you have a friable product, and that’s a little different,” said Tholand. Parents are pleased that the work is being done during the summer vacation, and that the asbestos is being removed before it becomes a problem, rather than in the future. (Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News)