Parents Concerned About Asbestos Removal at PA School

January 19, 2007 - Parents of students who attend the Governor Mifflin Intermediate School in Reading, Pennsylvania are concerned about the school board’s recent decision to remove asbestos from the school’s boiler room while school is still in session.

The Reading Eagle reports that, at a recent school board meeting, parents spoke out against scheduling the removal during the month of May, before students have been dismissed for the summer vacation. 

Maureen Ficken of Mohnton, who spoke at the meeting, said it is not worth endangering students' health by removing asbestos while school is in session, even if the risk is minimal. 

School board officials disagree, noting that the boiler room will be isolated during the removal.  Representatives from Spotts, Stevens & McCoy, an asbestos abatement company, were on hand at the meeting to explain the safety procedures employed in removing asbestos.

Daniel R. Gensemer, manager of asbestos and lead management services for the company, told those present that the boiler room would be encased in two layers of plastic while the asbestos was removed.

“The walls, ceiling and floor would be encased like a bubble,” Gensemer said.

All work would be done after school hours, and workers would check in and out at a decontamination station, Gensemer said. Removal would take about two weeks but possibly less, he added.

William M. Katinowsky, an industrial hygienist with the company, told concerned parents that air samples would be collected and tested regularly at a certified laboratory and that a final air quality test would be taken when abatement was complete.  All of this is in accordance with standards put in place by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The school board is pushing for the earlier date, reports the newspaper, as it will save them more than $1.8 million in construction costs and allow school renovations to be completed nearly a year sooner than if they waited until June to remove the dangerous asbestos.