D.H.H. Lengel Middle School in Pottsville, PA is currently scheduled for asbestos removal to begin as soon as a bid is accepted by the school board. The middle school was built in 1970 and currently contains building materials which contain low levels of asbestos. However, as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and national health organizations have been quoted, there is no safe level of asbestos.
Cindy Petchulis, chairwoman of the buildings, real estate and transportation committee says that the remediation project will completely remove all the chrysotile asbestos in the school. The asbestos is in a spray coating that was applied as acoustical insulation to the ceiling tiles. The coating contains less than 1 percent asbestos and the school has continued to operate with the tiles in place because there is relatively little risk of exposure to asbestos fibers when the tiles are intact and in good condition.
The health risk arises when those are damaged, disturbed or in need of repair. Then the fibers that were encapsulated can become airborne and inhaled, years later developing into a serious form of cancer called malignant pleural mesothelioma.
Lengel Middle School is not alone in having to manage and make tough decision about in-place asbestos. Hundreds of schools built before the 1980’s used building materials that contained asbestos.
Schools do have options on how to deal with on-site asbestos. Complete asbestos removal is just one option for schools, according to EPA standards. Some can choose to manage the asbestos in place as “intact, undisturbed asbestos-containing materials generally do not pose a health risk.” Keeping such materials encapsulated is another option.
If the school chooses to leave the asbestos in place, they must comply with the EPA’s Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA). This act mandates regular inspections, the creation of an asbestos management plan, and providing appropriate staff members with asbestos training.
Asbestos was widely used in construction because it added structural strength and flame resistance to building materials. Union Carbide chemical company was the world’s largest supplier of chrysotile asbestos at one time, operating the largest chrysotile mine in the world at its King City mining and milling facility in California. Union Carbide branded their chrysotile as Calidira asbestos and often marketed it as a safer alternative to other forms of asbestos (although the company’s own lab tests have proven that false).
Pottsville is a small town south of Wilkes-Barre with a population of 14,000 residents. The school itself is home to just under 950 students in grades 5 through 8. It is part of the Pottsville Area School district which also encompasses the high school and elementary school.