Cary, Illinois – Cary Country Preschool was closed on Wednesday morning after tests found asbestos present in the walls of the facility.

The owner of the preschool, Erika Huber, had last week begun to remove wallpaper, plaster, and drywall from the school’s interior, but did not have a permit for the work.

On the morning of Monday March 31, the construction work was discovered by an inspector after heavy dust triggered the school’s fire alarm. School was dismissed at 11am that day, and the three children present were sent home early.

Erika Huber said that asbestos wasn’t present in the air, but was present in the plaster or wallpaper she had been removing. “We are planning on doing procedures to do the correct things to remedy this issue. We should have this fixed by Tuesday.” She also said that only her own two children had been present in the facility during the construction project.

However, even if Huber claims there was no visible dust, asbestos may still be present in the air. The most dangerous asbestos fibers are thinner than a human hair, and are too small to be seen with the naked eye. What might appear as “normal” dust might actually contain microscopic asbestos fibers.

Inhalation of asbestos dust is known to cause serious lung diseases, including a chronic inflammatory disease called asbestosis, and an aggressive lung cancer called pleural mesothelioma.

While it’s not known whether or not the risks of developing cancer are greater in children exposed to asbestos, there have been cases where children who were exposed to the substance developed mesothelioma in their early thirties.

According the village’s Building, Planning and Zoning Director Bob Nowak, around half of the preschool’s first floor was under construction, and dust had been spread throughout the construction area. However, the small building had no doors in some parts, so there was the possibility that dust had spread to other areas of the school.

On Tuesday April 1, students were prevented from entering the preschool by members of the Department of Children and Family Services.

A village administrator said that “This building cannot be occupied for business until she gets it cleaned up and it needs to be handled by a qualified company,” while a village trustee, Rick Dudek, said the village would work with the preschool to ensure it was safe before being reopened.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 at 4:56 pm and is filed under Asbestos Abatement, Asbestos Exposure, Illinois. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.