Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

TheAllen Central Elementary school will be completely demolished in August of this year.  Before the demolition can even begin, the school board must pay nearly $200 thousand dollars to have asbestos containing materials removed from the structure.  That figure is nearly double that quoted to demolish the entire building after the materials have been removed.

The Genoa Local School District is not alone.  Thousands of schools across the nation contain materials which are partially composed of asbestos.  The naturally occurring mineral, a known carcinogen, was a very popular additive in thousands of construction and commercial materials for decades until the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) outlawed its use in the 1980s.

While the EPA recommends that if these materials are in good shape and are not releasing asbestos into the air that they be left in place, a policy which has at times drawn some heat from concerned parents and staff.  Schools are also required to have Asbestos Management Programs in place where known materials are inspected on a regular basis.  In addition, any time renovation or demolition is scheduled, certified asbestos abatement contractors must be called in to remove the substance.

Asbestos can cause deadly cancers including lung cancer and mesothelioma, a type of cancer which causes tumors to grow in the soft tissue lining the interior of the body cavity and surrounding several vital organs.  Even small amounts of asbestos—if inhaled or ingested—can cause these debilitating illnesses.  Indeed, the FDA has repeatedly warned the general public that no amount of asbestos is safe.

While the school board approved a $109,000 expenditure to have D & R Enterprises, a Genoa-based building contractor, to level the building, they were required to pay Environmental Assurance Co., a Toledo-based asbestos abatement contractor, $194,680 for their part in the razing.

“That work is required so the asbestos does not go into the landfill,” said Dennis Mock, the school’s superintendent. 

The school board wisely chose to have the abatement project begin after classes ended for the summer—unlike several other schools that have recently faced public outcry from concerned employees and parents.  The abatement process is expected to take four to five weeks because it is so demanding and precise:

• The areas of the building being worked on must be segregated behind double airlocks.
• Once the materials are removed, they must be sealed in containers and transported to approved facilities for disposal.
• Testing must follow to ensure the building is safe for habitation before it can be opened back up.

The decision to demolish the school was prompted by structural deficiencies noted during an inspection.  Contractors estimated that it would cost much more to repair the existing structure than to raze it.  Therefore school officials voted to build a new facility to house the 700 students and let the old one go.

School officials say that the 12 acre plot on which the Allen Central currently stands will become a new park for Allen Township residents.