Montpelier, Vermont – Closed on July 28 due to asbestos-related problems, Main Street Middle School in Montpelier, Vermont remains closed and school officials don’t know whether the school will be able to open in time for the beginning of the new school year, just one month away.

Due to the hazards of asbestos exposure, and the often difficult nature of preventing exposure during renovation work, schools tend to carry out asbestos-related work during summer vacations, when there’s plenty of time to make sure the job is done safely and effectively before students return.

However, districts asbestos control officer Chris Crothers says the school may not open in time for the beginning of the new school year due to the extent of the asbestos problems and the need to follow the required protocols in solving them.

The school was closed after a state Department of Health safety inspector found that workers at the school were using improper practices to remove floor tiles which contained asbestos.

Employees of the contracting company were chipping asbestos tiles off the floors to prepare for laying new tiles. The workers were not wearing face masks or using air-sampling pumps to monitor air quality while the asbestos was being removed. Classroom doors were left open, and there were no barriers around the work area to ensure that other workers were not able to enter.

Chris Crothers says that based on the removal method and the lack of safety precautions, exposure was likely to have occurred, due to the probability of airborne asbestos particles being present.

As a result, the DOH has shut down the project, and all contractors, employees, and other workers using the building have been asked to vacate until it has been deemed safe to return.

In addition to the floor tiles, several feet of asbestos insulation must be removed from pipes in the school’s basement.

Over the next month, the school must be monitored for signs of asbestos contamination, and both the basement insulation and the floor tiles must be removed. John Hollar, chairman of the Montpelier Board of School Commissioners, says the school will do everything and anything necessary to ensure the school is safe before it reopens.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 1st, 2008 at 2:06 pm and is filed under Asbestos Exposure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.