Syosset Schools: No Asbestos Policy Changes

The Syosset School District said Friday that no new guidelines will be set after asbestos was discovered Thursday at Syosset High School, leading to an evacuation of the campus.  

Asbestos planks were found next to a Dumpster following a cleanup of the school's boiler room.

According to a school district spokesperson, the high school had its most recent asbestos inspection last December and that no problems were found.

"The district policies and guidelines were most effective," according to the statement, which added that the air has been tested and the school is safe. The timing of the evacuation was ironic, as National Asbestos Awareness Week begins next Thursday. 

The New York State Education Department provides building approvals for schools.

"[Asbestos] can and does exist all over schools in the state and is not a safety hazard if it is in good condition and not disturbed," says Judy Briggs, a spokesperson for the NYSED. "It is often disturbed in construction projects and if so, must be handled in accordance with code rule 56 [the Department of Labor code covering asbestos]. Before we approve a project, we require evidence that materials intended to be disturbed during construction are tested for asbestos and handled accordingly."

However, the kind of work being done at Syosset Thursday does not fall under those guidelines.

"Regarding Syosset High School, there are no capital projects underway in the district for which the Education Department would need advance notice," Briggs says.

Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization Co-Founder/President Linda Reinstein  doesn't want her organization's message to be fear-based, but she stresses that it's important to go the extra mile when it comes to prevention.

"If you have to have materials tested for capital improvements only, that may not protect enough," she says. "Because the workers need to understand that renovations, repairs and cleanup can also expose workers and students to asbestos."

Reinstein, who lost a husband to mesothelioma, is currently preparing for the sixth annual International Asbestos Awareness Conference in Chicago on April 10. She notes that asbestos fibers are odorless and 700 times smaller than human hair, and mesothelioma symptoms may not appear for 10 to 50 years after initial asbestos exposure.

"If a building is old, and asbestos is wrapped around pipes and boilers and becomes friable, and then you disturb it through renovations, repairs, whatever, those fibers can be released," Reinstein says. "The World Health Organization, Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Surgeon General all agree that there is no safe level of exposure."