School Custodian Says He was Exposed to Asbestos

December 4, 2006 - A long-time custodian at a Southbury, Connecticut elementary school claims he has been exposed to hazardous asbestos on-the-job, reports an article in the Waterbury, Connecticut Republican-American newspaper.

Charles Iaiennaro, who has worked at Gainfield Elementary School since 1986, says that his work in the tunnels underneath the school led to his exposure.  The tunnels, where Iaiennaro labored until 2000, house the school’s heating, water and drain pipes.  The custodian says he never wore protective gear when entering the tunnel nor was he warned of his potential exposure to the dangerous material, which causes serious lung diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma.

"They had me crawling around in that stuff, nobody told me it was in there," Iaiennaro said.

District officials deny the allegations and maintain that present and former students, faculty, and staff members are safe, despite Iaiennaro’s claims that the utility tunnels were not fully sealed, and that an exhaust fan running seven days a week pulled air from the tunnels.

The former director of facilities, Wayne Natzel, told the newspaper that air tests in the school "have always come back clear through the years," though there is indeed “friable” asbestos in the tunnels, caused by insulation that has fallen off the pipes over the years, lying on the floor of the tunnel.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says that Iaiennaro’s claims are unfounded but did cite the school for the lack of warning signs on the tunnel doors. 

The custodian plans to appeal, saying that several items in his complaint were not addressed by OSHA, including the fact that there are "numerous rooms in the school that have holes in the floor due to piping going down into the tunnel."
He said the areas around the pipes were not sealed, except in the main office, and that "exposure still exists in these other rooms, i.e. tunnel air is mixing in with the air in the rooms."
Iaiennaro also claims that there are a handful of rooms in the building that "are still reliant on the piping in the tunnels for heat, hot water and water fountains."