Renaissance School Kids Evacuated

Dear Mayor-elect Fried: It might be a good idea to make sure the town calls in some agency -- the EPA? -- toot sweet to evaluate the level of asbestos particulates in the air. What have these kids already been exposed to?

Welcome to political office, by the way.

Annette,

Asbestos particles are so small that they can remain suspended in the air for up to one year.

I was the one who was all over the BHS construction project snafus in Bloomfield.

You can call in the EPA and your local health department. Your teachers (NOT a parent, only a teacher) can contact the Work Environment Council http://www.njwec.org/

This is crazy.

I remember the good old days when we put asbestos INTO the schools.

We breathed in. We breathed out.

These folks now with their sensitive lungs, fear of mesothelioma and Asbestosis are really too much.

What's next, seat belts on school buses?

Seriously though, students, faculty and staff should not be permitted back until an outside agency gives the all clear.

I'd rather not let my loved one be the "hopefully nothing bad will happen" test case.......

However, with our own local bearded wonder of a Super, I'll betcha $10 rather than address this, he'll stay quiet.

Typical.

Hope I'm wrong.

He would respond perhaps, if he wasn't touring China to improve Montclair's school system.

During the installation of new fire doors at the school (at BOE request), an air quality sample detected a minimal trace of asbestos on the third floor.

As a precaution, the entire building is being cleaned this
weekend.

The remediation is already complete.

I do not know if the school will be open on Monday.

The clean up and remediation was managed by the BOE, so it would be their call.

CCD classes are canceled this weekend.

"The clean up and remediation was managed by the BOE"

If this is anything like the other projects the BOE has managed, it wouldn't surprise me if the school never reopens.

Thank goodness it was only a minimal trace. A massive trace would have been bad, and god forbid it had been a gargantuan trace.

I have unacceptable levels of asbestos in my basement recycling room, well I remediated it now, so it's asbestos wrapped in duct tape - so all's good.

Thank God BOE Insider has set the record straight on this.

Perhaps the Montclair BOE should team up with Baristanet to help connect them to the community via this web-thang.

(Despite my obvious disdain for the Super-- glad to see a detailed letter went out.)

Oh I get it, first the Principal at Renaissance requests that new fire doors be installed.

The BOE district goes ahead and tests the air and finds some asbestos but doesn't bother to tell the people in charge at Immaculate Conception (the landlord) and then...closes down the school notifying parents and the press that there's a problem.

YES THERE'S A PROBLEM, the BOE doesn't communicate except to point the finger in blame.

Since they knew about the asbestos and had requested new fire doors they should have been required to inform IC so that the work could have been done in the summer months when Renaissance is not in sesion and the asbestos could have been abated first.

Thanks for putting my kids at risk BOE.

Isn't Dana Sullivan the person who was responsible for the Woodman field fiasco after fiasco.

Note to new Montclair coucil, put this person on your list to look at!

This from the Mayo Clinic

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/asbestosis/DS00482

Asbestosis is a breathing disorder caused by inhaling asbestos fibers. Prolonged accumulation of these fibers in your lungs can lead to scarring of lung tissue and diminished breathing capacity. Signs and symptoms of asbestosis usually don't appear until years after exposure. But once apparent, the condition often worsens and can lead to disability and even death if exposure to asbestos continues.

Asbestos is a natural mineral product that's resistant to heat and corrosion. It was used extensively in the past in the building and manufacturing industries. Some of its more common uses were in pipe and duct insulation, fire-retardant materials, brake and clutch linings, cement, and some vinyl floor tiles.

People most likely to develop asbestosis are those who've been exposed to asbestos for a long time. Most people with asbestosis acquired it on the job before the federal government began regulating the use of asbestos and asbestos products in the mid-1970s. Today, its handling is strictly regulated. Still, experts estimate that since the 1940s up to 10 million people may have been exposed to asbestos. The good news is that most people with a history of prolonged exposure don't develop asbestosis, and the risk of asbestosis diminishes every day away from exposure.

These days, most instances of asbestos exposure occur during removal of old asbestos products or demolition of old buildings. If you live, work or study in a building where existing asbestos has been contained and sealed, you're not at risk of asbestosis.