Lufkin, Texas schools to become asbestos free
Lufkin school officials have known for some time about the asbestos floor tiles installed in the district’s schools, but felt that it was not a health risk to their students and teachers. Nevertheless, the flooring could have turned into a future problem, should the tiles become dry and brittle and be dislodged or broken. Asbestos is dangerous when it is disturbed because it then becomes friable, releasing airborne asbestos fibers into the surrounding breathing space. When airborne, asbestos fibers may be breathed in and trapped in the lungs, resulting in asbestosis, lung cancer or mesothelioma. So, when the school system became the beneficiary of new bond money after the November 2007 initiative, the district opted to remove the asbestos floors while other improvements were ongoing. According to the director of maintenance, Morty Halyard, “It’s been a major undertaking for the summer.” Although the asbestos floor tiles have been successfully removed from sixty classrooms this summer, there hasn’t been time to install new flooring everywhere. Many students and teachers will have nothing but bare concrete underfoot when the first school bell rings this fall.
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