Bancroft, Iowa – A northern Iowa school has had to make a difficult decision and temporarily close down, but administrators believe it was absolutely necessary to protect the health of students and staff.

North Kossuth Elementary School in Bancroft, Iowa was closed down after the results of asbestos testing came in on Monday April 28.

The results of the tests indicated that asbestos levels in the school are higher than what is generally considered to be safe. In one classroom, asbestos levels up to ten times higher were noted. Asbestos levels up to one thousand times higher than what is considered safe were shown in a hallway on the school’s second floor.

After viewing the test results, school district officials decided it was time for North Kossuth to close down.

Superintendent Mike Landstrum said that the school board didn’t want to have to close the school, but the reports of those tests were worrying enough that it has to happen. School officials don’t want to take any chances that might end up compromising the health of students and staff.

The school’s 145 children will miss two or three days of school, after which they will attend a nearby Swea City school for the remainder of the school year.

With just three weeks left in the school year, parents are concerned about the disruption to their children’s’ education, but most are even more concerned about the asbestos at North Kossuth and agree that closing down the school and moving the children is the right thing to do.

Asbestos is an increasingly common problem in schools, but it’s rarely as serious an issue as it is for North Kossuth Elementary School.

The dangerous substance is present in a large number of older schools because of its common use in construction materials prior to the 1980s. Any school built before then stands a good chance of containing asbestos.

Exposure to asbestos is dangerous because it is a known cause of cancer and other debilitating diseases.

In most cases, however, asbestos is not a serious health risk in schools because it is well-contained and is safe if lest undisturbed. Schools that contain asbestos are required to develop and maintain asbestos-management programs to ensure that the asbestos is not a health risk.

For most schools, asbestos isn’t a problem unless renovations are planned. In such cases asbestos must be removed or otherwise neutralized before renovations can be carried out.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 9th, 2008 at 2:33 pm and is filed under Asbestos Exposure, Iowa. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.