Maine High School Fears Asbestos

January 2, 2006 - Parents, students, and staff at a Maine high school have expressed concerns about asbestos abatement taking place while school is in session.  Though officials at Winslow High School are consistently monitoring air quality during their $9 million renovation – which is expected to take up to 18 months – the school, the district, and the local Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) have been receiving numerous phone calls as to the dangers of removing asbestos-laden floor and ceiling tiles during the school year.

The Morning Sentinel reports that several anonymous messages have been left at the school and others are phoning the DEP to express their concerns. Those callers include Carrie McCoy, who has two children at the high school.  McCoy claims that her kids have been ill since the abatement began. 

McCoy says her daughter has missed at least 10 days of school thus far due to sickness. She blames the asbestos removal for her daughter's ill health.

"My daughter is my main concern," she said. "She is not a sickly child."

McCoy also said her son, an asthmatic, has not missed any days but experiences congestion, headaches and a dry cough during the week. The symptoms go away on weekends when he is away from school, she said.

Others maintain that the abatement is being done by the book.  "The removal process itself is going very well," said Shelley Phillips, ground and maintenance supervisor for the school. "The company doing the actual removal is amazed at how easily the tiles are coming off the floor. It goes back to the moisture content in the floor, which is a good thing at this point of the project."

"As far as the DEP is concerned, the removal process was all according to state and federal regulations," adds John Bucci, who works for DEP's Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management.

The school nurse is also monitoring illnesses to be sure that the numbers do not indicate a substantial rise in illness.  So far, she’s noticed nothing out of the ordinary, reports the Morning Sentinel.