Montpelier school clean-up will cost $50,000

Montpelier, Vermont - Montpelier’s Main Street Middle School is doing what it can to solve its asbestos problemsâ€"the school was quickly evacuated and closed when the problem was discovered, and federal Environmental Protection Agency officials have been in the school to investigate the possible asbestos contamination which occurred this week. Now, however, the school has learned that cleaning up the asbestos will cost around $50,000. The school was closed on July 28, and currently officials don’t know whether the school will be able to open in time for the beginning of the new school year, less than one month away. Main Street Middle School was closed after a state Department of Health safety inspector found that workers at the school were using improper practices to remove floor tiles which contained asbestos. DOH asbestos and lead engineer Andrew Chevrefils noticed that workers were using methods which violate state regulations for removal of asbestos. Employees of the contracting company were chipping asbestos tiles off the floors to prepare for laying new tiles. The workers were not wearing face masks or using air-sampling pumps to monitor air quality while the asbestos was being removed, and area where the work was being done was not kept isolated or contained. Despite the lack of appropriate safety precautions, Austin Sumner, a Department of Health epidemiologist, says it’s unlikely anyone is in great danger of developing an asbestos-related disease. As a result of the possible asbestos contamination, the state Department of Health has shut down the project, and all contractors, employees, and other workers using the building have been asked to vacate until it has been deemed safe to return. The district’s asbestos control officer Chris Crothers says the extent of the asbestos problems, and the measures required to solve them, may keep the school closed into the new academic year. Crothers has designed an asbestos removal plan for the school, which has received preliminary approval from the DOH. However, the clean-up and air monitoring is expected to take at least two weeks to complete, and that’s after the plan has been fully approved, which may put an additional week or more on the total time needed to clean up the school. Asbestos is present not only in floor tiles in the school, but also in pipe insulation in the basement. The pipe insulation is thought to be friable, making clean-up particularly dangerous and necessitating extra caution. (Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News)