Legal news for Pennsylvania Mesothelioma attorneys –Bethlehem area vocational technical school students exposed to asbestos at remodeling project, Bethlehem area vocational technical school, asbestos exposure, school authorities.
Bethlehem Township, PA (NewYorkInjuryNews.com) – A remodeling project at Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School may have exposed as many as 100 students and teachers to asbestos, Tuesday, December 15, 2009, according to the Express Times. An asbestos professional claimed that the concentration of the hazardous asbestos fibers were extremely low.
Several parents at a meeting concerning the matter wanted to know why the students were not alerted that asbestos was present. The district had reportedly been aware of the asbestos three months prior. Parents were outraged that their children were subjected to the materials unknowingly, even though the school was aware of the situation.
At least 100 students and faculty had been working for several months to renovate an old house at 3266 Hecktown Road, which was a school-organized project. Teams of students and teachers worked to remove the boiler out of the basement, which contained a thick insulation containing about of 70 percent asbestos.
School authorities only informed the students and faculty later on to not go back to the house due to asbestos. The asbestos professional had found the asbestos after a September research on the house, and then contacted that school district the following week advising that specialists should abate it. He also was not aware that students had been working in the contaminated area until after the asbestos was stirred.
An attorney stated that the school was investigating the situation to determine who was responsible for informing the students and teachers who were exposed. The asbestos consultant did say that exposure would have been low, and that it was improbable that it would cause long term health effects.
However, he was not sure that the students would not become sick from the asbestos exposure. The school district planned to compensate the uninsured students for the cost of X-rays. According to Wikipedia, asbestos, is a natural fibrous crystals, that can mesothelioma, a rare and destructive cancer.
Bridget Hom
www.NewYorkInjuryNews.com