Asbestos in Schools: Harmful to Teachers and Students

No parent wants to hear that their child’s school is shut down due to asbestos being found. No teacher wants to learn about this either.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case for Indiana Avenue School #18 in Iselin, New Jersey. For the second time this year, the school has closed its doors to both its students and faculty.

Air Quality Issues at Indiana Avenue School #18

The temporary closing of School #18 has raised many eyebrows. It has also increased health and educational concerns among the parents of students. The school has been closed twice now due to air quality issues involving mold and asbestos.

Latest released inspection reports revealed that asbestos was found in the school’s media center. Traces of the carcinogen had also been discovered in three different classrooms.

It is important to remember that there is no safe level of asbestos exposure. Exposing children teachers, and other faculty members at School #18 could lead to serious health complications in their future.

Asbestos is the only known cause of mesothelioma. Every year in the United States, around 3,000 cases of this incurable cancer are diagnosed.

Asbestos Problems at Philadelphia Schools Lead to Mesothelioma Diagnosis

Editor’s Note: This section was written by Devin Golden and added to the article on Nov. 25, 2019.

A teacher and employee of the Philadelphia School District for nearly 30 years was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma. She claims, according to numerous reports, that the disease is due to asbestos contamination in the school buildings.

The 51-year-old woman worked at “two buildings with documented asbestos problems,” according to a report by the Philadelphia ABC television affiliate. She most recently taught at Meredith Elementary School in the city. The TV report includes pictures of exposed asbestos and other debris.

The patient told her story on Good Morning America, a national ABC television show with an audience of around five million viewers.

“I don’t know if I would feel comfortable,” she said on the show, “knowing that I’m going to a place where someone didn’t tell me that there was a toxic substance and that it was in my midst, 2 feet from my head all day, every day.”

The teacher learned of her diagnosis in August 2019.

Philadelphia public schools have been the subject of numerous reports centered around asbestos. The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper published a special investigative series titled “Toxic City: Sick Schools” and listed seven elementary schools with the hazardous material.

Asbestos Hiding in Schools

It might not cross your mind, but asbestos can still be found in many school buildings today. If your child attends or you work in a school that was built prior to 1980, it is possible that the facility still contains asbestos.

In 2013, Asbestos Nation did a study that analyzed school inspection records in Chicago, Illinois. What this organization discovered is quite shocking.

Based on the reports, more than 600 different locations in over 180 schools needed asbestos either removed or repaired. The study was updated in 2015. Regrettably, only 11 schools took the recommendations of their inspection reports to protect their student body and staff.

Asbestos-containing materials in buildings can be a threat if they are disturbed. Normal wearing and aging of a building can cause this. Even pushing thumb tacks into a wall insulated with asbestos can release many unseen fibers into the air.

In older schools, asbestos may still be found in:

• Insulation
• Floor tiles
• Ceiling tiles
• Plumbing
• Paint
• Roofing shingles

Parents, teachers, and all other staff members should know if their school is following these guidelines.

Teachers and Students at Risk for Asbestos-Illnesses

In the United States, approximately 15,000 victims succumb to an asbestos-related disease each year. Many individuals are diagnosed due to having exposure in their workplace.

Shipbuilders, factory and construction workers, are but only a few occupations that are at high-risk for exposure. You may not think about it, but even non blue-collar workers, like teachers can be victims too.

Not only does asbestos exposure put teachers a risk, but it also puts students at a high risk of developing a preventable disease as well.

It takes anywhere from 20 to 50 years for mesothelioma to develop. Though it is common for a diagnosis to occur in the elderly, there have been cases of young adults being diagnosed.

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