November 25th, 2007

A small Massachusetts town is voting this week on where they are going to come up with almost $500,000, the amount that asbestos removal will cost from a local school building.

One small discovery while conducting renovation work on a Massachusetts school building has led to an emergency meeting being called this week. The meeting is to vote on where the town will get almost $500,000 additional funds for the renovation in order to pay for asbestos removal. The asbestos was found in a crawl space beneath an old middle school building, and halted any other renovations until the deadly material could be removed. The small town may petition the state for the funds, but would use up almost all of a grant set aside for such work if they did receive the state’s help.

The asbestos causes a concern, considering that renovation work can disturb the material. When asbestos is disturbed, it breaks apart into airborne particles that can be inhaled. When asbestos becomes caught in the body it can lead to emphysema, asbestosis or a form of lung cancer called mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a result of asbestos particles becoming lodged in the lungs, keeping oxygen from being absorbed.