April 22nd, 2008

An excavator removing snow from a Montana elementary school appears to have caused asbestos to leak out of the school building. Students alerted teachers to the asbestos and the material was quickly cleaned up.

After heavy snow caused drifts to accumulate in a Montana schoolyard, an excavator was brought out to remove some of the piles last week. The machine appears to have exposed some asbestos in the school building to the environment, but no danger was found in the school grounds. The excavator pulled some of the material out of the building and deposited snow in the hole left behind; when the snow melted, students found the dangerous substance in the schoolyard leaking from the building. The Environmental Protection Agency removed the asbestos and stated that there was no danger of asbestos exposure to the students.

Since the melting snow kept the asbestos wet, there was no chance of the material becoming friable, or airborne. Asbestos is usually only a danger once its particles can become airborne and can then be breathed into the body. Asbestos exposure has been linked respiratory diseases like emphysema and a type of lung cancer called mesothelioma. Mesothelioma results from asbestos particles being inhaled into the lungs and getting stuck there, keeping the lungs from absorbing oxygen.