Montclair, nj students evacuated after asbestos discovery

Montclair, New Jersey â€" More than two hundred students and staff members were evacuated from Renaissance Middle School in Montclair, New Jersey on Friday May 16 after asbestos was discovered in the plaster of a newly-installed set of fire doors. According to Laura Federico, the Montclair Public School District Public Information Officer, most students were relocated to other schools located nearby, where they remained for the rest of the day. Federico said that the safety of students and staff was the most important concern of the school district. A recent asbestos inspection that was carried out in the school building indicated that asbestos was present in some of the plaster. However, the plaster was judged to be not dangerous at that time. On Thursday May 15, it was discovered that the asbestos-containing plaster may have been disturbed during recent after-hours installation of a set of fire doors. At that point, Detail Associates, a local asbestos consultant, was called in to test the school’s air and clean up any problematic asbestos-containing materials. According to the letter sent home with students, when air quality tests were carried out in the building, “Of the four samples collected, one, taken from the third floor hallway showed a level of airborne asbestos fibers that exceeded the acceptable range.” “As soon as we were notified of the increased levels of fibers on Friday morning, we sealed off the affected area and moved the children to parts of the building that were cleared by our consultant or to off-site locations.” “Detail Associates will thoroughly inspect the building this evening and develop a cleaning protocol, which will take place tomorrow. The building will be cleaned and tested until all samples indicate appropriate levels of fibers. Detail Associates has advised us that the building will be cleaned, tested and cleared for occupancy by Monday morning.” Many schools have had asbestos problems this year, including Bethel High School in Connecticut, which had to send students home on more than one occasion when asbestos was discovered during a series of abatement and renovation projects. A preschool in Cary, Illinois was temporarily closed when asbestos was discovered in the walls, and asbestos abatement is an ongoing and expensive project for many schools. Asbestos was widely used in public, residential, and industrial construction up until the mid-1980s, and many schools built before this period contain asbestos, particularly in insulation and fire-proofing materials. What to do about the asbestos has become an increasingly serious issue for many schools as those materials deteriorate and become an exposure risk during renovation and remodeling projects. (Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News)