From August 6th to 11th this past summer, the Dodge Shop, PMAC Boiler Room, St. John Hall Room 102, Tom Curtin House, and the Chapel House faculty apartment underwent asbestos abatements. An asbestos abatement consists of removing all the asbestos-containing materials and replacing them, since asbestos is highly toxic.
Marcor Inc., which is a state-licensed asbestos abatement contractor, performed the work at Choate. Additionally, ATC Associates, an independent environmental consultant based in East Hartford, CT, monitored the asbestos abatement to ensure safety.
Asbestos was used in construction in the late 19th century and early 1900s. Asbestos was originally hailed as a “miracle material” because it was durable, strong, resistant to heat, electricity, and chemicals; and absorbed sound very well. However, miners and construction workers who worked with asbestos daily began to show lung problems as early as the 1920s.
In the 1980s, asbestos was found to be a highly toxic substance and was banned from use in construction in the USA. Many state and federal laws have been passed to ensure that asbestos-containing buildings are safely managed. The inhalation of asbestos fibers may cause mesothelioma and asbestosis, which are dangerous forms of lung cancer and disease, respectively. Asbestos is typically only extremely dangerous after long-term exposure.
Danger to students and faculty is minimal. Mr. Cahoon, manager of energy management systems and the head inspector of asbestos at Choate, explains, “Even if a tile containing asbestos were to break, fibers probably wouldn’t be released, and generally asbestosis is only a problem after long-term exposure.”
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates asbestos inspections in schools. Under instruction from state agencies, every six months the Choate facilities department inspects all campus buildings to make sure there are no asbestos problems. In addition, ATC Associates is required to inspect Choate for asbestos every three years. Although not all of our buildings are known for sure to have asbestos, all buildings are treated as “suspects.” Inspections generally include checking “boilers, pipes, sheet rock, tiles, plaster and certain glues,” according to Mr. Cahoon.
Asbestos abatements are done when students and faculty are away from the buildings being abated. Sometimes, asbestos-containing materials are not removed from buildings, but rather encapsulated to close off any contamination. Since the mid 1980s asbestos abatements have occurred regularly, usually over the summer or during winter or spring vacations. One of the restricting factors in getting all of the Choate campus abated is cost. Choate has an asbestos abatement fund, managed by Mr. Cahoon, which contains $50,000 to use for asbestos abatements every year. However, the size and cost of an asbestos abatement project that encompasses the entire school would be too much. Also, many asbestos-containing buildings are not dangerous to students because the asbestos is contained within pipes hidden in walls.
Due to these factors, asbestos abatements are usually done only if they are needed or if it is very convenient for them to be done at the time. For example, last summer, many faculty members were moving to different residences around campus. This opened an opportunity to do an abatement of those newly vacated buildings. In this way, the goal to keep Choate safe from asbestos is achieved without infringing on the students’ or faculty members’ lives in order to do so.
For the most part, asbestos abatement will be a long-term process and will continue to take place when it is most convenient and necessary.
