Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

The Linden School in Oak Ridge, Tennessee is set to undergo a widespread asbestos abatement project to remove the harmful carcinogen from school property.  The school was built before the 1985 ban on construction materials that contain asbestos and, like thousands of other schools across the country, has been struggling to maintain these materials in such a way that keeps students and faculty safe from potentially lethal exposure to this known carcinogen.

Asbestos is a naturally occurring fiber that was once seen as a miracle.  It added strength and fire resistant properties to materials and compounds such as floor and ceiling tiles, adhesives, and even paint.  However, if those asbestos fibers become airborne through decay or damage, they can pose a very serious health threat.  Asbestos can be inhaled or ingested and may cause permanent scarring of the lungs (called asbestosis), or even a deadly form of cancer called mesothelioma.

Asbestos related diseases, including mesothelioma and asbestosis, are incurable.  While patients may seek treatment through traditional cancer treatments or more radical innovative ones such as genetically engineered bacteria, the best they can currently hope for is an extended lifespan and improved quality of life during their final months.

In order to keep children and faculty members as safe as possible, the school board at the Linden Elementary School decided to initiate the abatement progress over the summer break.  While it means the project will end up costing the school al little more, it may mean the difference between life and death—a tradeoff the board members were happy to make. 

Allen Thacker, the city schools' supervisor of maintenance and operations, said the project should take just five weeks.  In order to adhere to state and federal regulations, a third party contractor trained and licensed to properly remove, transport, and dispose of asbestos containing materials has been called in.  Environmental Abatement Inc. placed a bid of $131,000 for the project and beat out its five competitors to win the contract.  The Hendersonville-based contractors will spend most of their time dealing with the over 70,000 square feet of asbestos-laden ceiling tiles.

To counter the cost of the abatement, the school will use its own maintenance personnel to place new ceiling tiles after the work area has been cleared of asbestos and approved via air and surface testing overseen by Environmental Consulting and Testing of Knoxville.