April 17th, 2007

A pipe fitter states that he has found asbestos present in seven schools in the city as well as in one Department of Education Office, and despite his recommendations to have the asbestos removed this has only been done in one instance. Fifty year-old John Kielbasa states that students and staff are being put at risk simply because of the costs involved with the removal.

John claims that his supervisors have put a stop to the removal of the known carcinogenic, simply because of how much it will cost. He added: "Every time I bring this up, they tell me not to rock the boat. They tell me, 'You like your job? Want to keep it?' "

Kielbasa works for the DOE Division of School Facilities, and his employer has denied that any complaint has been received from him. However, a lawyer for the pipe fitter has produced a number of written requests that were sent in to the employer.

Regarding the discovery of asbestos John stated: "I find it in libraries. I find it in classrooms. I find it in hallways. I find it in machinery rooms, near ventilation ducts."