Teachers and Students at Risk: Asbestos Found in Elementary Schools in New York and New Jersey

In many public, private and parochial schools throughout the country, decades-old school buildings are still the daily homes for teachers and students.

While new state of the art junior and senior high school campuses are built, the students in some elementary schools are spending their days in older buildings, in some cases dating back to the 1920’s, when asbestos was routinely used in building and remodeling.

In June 2007, two elementary schools were closed because of asbestos exposure issues:

Jefferson Elementary School in Massena, New York, was temporarily closed recently when asbestos was found in the school. Custodial employees of the school reported finding a large chunk of asbestos on a school loading dock, as well as asbestos on pipes located in a storage crawl space. An asbestos testing company evaluated the school for the presence of asbestos in the air in the building, and the Superintendent had workers remove asbestos debris. The school district was cited by the Department of Labor for having unlicensed asbestos workers removing the asbestos debris.

At Bangs Avenue Elementary School in Asbury Park, New Jersey, asbestos was found in a plaster-like substance that fell from the ceilings in one of the classrooms. The district brought in an asbestos consulting company to inspect the school, and more asbestos was found. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also inspected the school. A final determination on whether the school would be closed for the final week of the school year was to be made after reviewing the results from further testing.

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