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August 16, 2013
Binghamton, New York - The Binghamton, New York school board is trying to decide whether or not to pass a resolution declaring an emergency at Calvin Coolidge Elementary School after asbestos was found in a crawl space inside the busy building.
An article in the Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin discussed the fact that the school district had to cancel the summer enrichment program at the school last week, concerned that the discovery of the asbestos could represent a health risk to teachers, staff, and students inside the school. Now, they need to vote on a resolution declaring the find an “emergency” situation so that it is addressed immediately.
“The affected area was immediately sealed off and the summer school/summer fun programs were relocated,” said Don Sbarra, district communications coordinator, in a release to the local media. He assured the public that the district had taken precautions to avoid asbestos exposure.
In addition, the district made a decision to cancel a similar program run at a sister school, Theodore Roosevelt Elementary, because teachers had transported materials from Coolidge to that school. There was concern that asbestos fibers may have been on those materials, prompting a clean-up at Roosevelt to address any toxic dust.
It is expected that Roosevelt Elementary will re-open shortly, but air quality testing will be completed before that happens. There is no word as to when Coolidge might re-open, Sbarra said, noting that if the board sees fit to declare the situation an emergency, mitigation and recovery work will happen more quickly.
In order to make the school safe, a licensed asbestos contractor will need to be brought in to complete the asbestos removal and then the school will need to be cleaned thoroughly and air tested to be sure that dangerous levels of asbestos don’t remain.
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