Milford, Connecticut – Many schools are closed this week for Spring Break, and some are taking advantage of the down time to bring contractors in for asbestos removal. In Milford, Connecticut, two schools are doing just that, hoping to get a jump-start on renovations planned for the summer.

Asbestos problems in schools are often in the news. Many such stories appear when a school is carrying out asbestos abatement during the semester, when kids are in the school. One such incident occurred at another Connecticut school last month. Asbestos was discovered at Bethel High during abatement and renovations, and the school was closed for several days while testing was carried out.

Being able to carry out abatement during a vacation week is a big advantage for schools, which must be able to ensure that removal of asbestos doesn’t pose any dangers to children and teachers. The Bethel High incident illustrates how difficult a problem this can be: the incident was caused by the breakage of a table that had not been known to contain asbestos until the incident occurred.

For officials at Jonathan Law and Foran High Schools, getting the abatement work done during a vacation week is even more important, because renovations are planned at both schools during summer vacation, and getting the asbestos removal done now allows for more time later.

Asbestos and lead abatement at the schools will cost an estimated $1.2 million. The renovations, which will cost around $6 million, are badly needed, says Phillip Russell, Deputy Superintendent of Operations. “Everything’s old—the plumbing, the burners. We have to change out the plumbing before it starts leaking.”

Jonathan Law was built in 1961 and Foran High School in 1973. The schools have been updated little since then, and since those decades were part of the peak period of asbestos use in America, they both need considerable abatement work done.

In schools, asbestos was used as thermal and acoustical insulation, as well as a flame and fire retardant. The toxic substance may be in walls, ceilings, and floors, around furnaces, boilers, and pipes, and in tables, burner pads, and other equipment in science laboratories.

Contractors working in Jonathan Law and Foran High Schools this week hope to finish the work by Thursday. Once the work has been completed, air samples will be taken and tested to make sure it’s safe for students to come back to school.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 28th, 2008 at 9:13 am and is filed under Asbestos Abatement, Connecticut. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.