February 29th, 2008

A teacher in California is saying that school officials may have put her and her students at risk of asbestos exposure. The teacher filed a complaint about possible asbestos, but did not hear an answer for more than two months.

A teacher in California is alleging that school officials allowed her to teach in a classroom that contained asbestos for more than two months after she requested testing be done. The speech therapist noticed what looked to be asbestos from a cut pipe being blown around her classroom by an air conditioning vent. She filed a report in August, and air quality tests found the material to be asbestos in October. But the teacher was not notified until November about the hazardous material.

School officials said the asbestos did not cause a threat, since tests taken before and after abatement indicated the material was not airborne. When asbestos becomes airborne is when there is a concern, since breathing in the substance can lead to respiratory diseases like emphysema and mesothelioma. Mesothelioma, a form of aggressive lung cancer, results from asbestos particles being trapped in the lungs. An investigation by the California Department of Occupational Safety and Health is pending.