Montpelier schools will open late due to asbestos problems

Montpelier, Vermont â€" All three schools in the district of Montpelier in Vermont will open late this year, due to the asbestos problems suffered by Main Street Middle School. Rather than opening on August 28 as planned, the schools will all open several days later on September 2. Repeated asbestos-related issues at Main Street Middle School are at the root of the late opening, and the delay in the start of the new school year will allow the complete removal of the contamination. The problems began around two weeks ago, when Main Street Middle School was closed by the state Department of Health due to possible asbestos contamination. The school was closed on July 28 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. 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. Classroom doors were left open, and there were no barriers around the work area to ensure that other workers were not able to enter. As a result, the DOH shut down the project, and all contractors, employees, and any other workers using the building have been asked to vacate until it has been deemed safe to return. Two other schools in the Montpelier district may face similar but less serious problems. Williamstown Elementary and Barre Town Middle and Elementary School both used the same contractor which was shut down at Main Street Middle School for its unsafe work practices. Barre Town Middle and Elementary School has already voluntarily closed, and remains closed. The school was evacuated and closed on July 29, after school officials heard that the construction company they were using had already been removed from the Main Street school. Officials of both of the closed schools are waiting to hear from the Department of Health for approval of clean-up plans to address asbestos contamination issues. The work at Williamstown Elementary has already been completed, and it seems that there may be no safety issues at the school. According to Vermont Department of Health environmental and occupational epidemiologist Dr. Austin Sumner, the job was much smaller and mechanical tile chippers were not used. School district officials worked tirelessly to try and solve the asbestos problems in time for the beginning of the new school year, with the district’s asbestos control officer Chris Crowther devising a plan for removing the asbestos from Main Street Middle School. Despite their best efforts, however, the schools will now be opening a little later than planned. (Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News)