August 17, 2000
Asbestos citations lead to Mohawk response, training
By Cathy Willoughby
Staff Writer
Steps are now in place to avert any future mishaps at Mohawk Junior High in Sycamore when working with potentially asbestos containing floor tiles.
Superintendent Randy Chamberlain reported that all steps that the Department of Commerces Public Employment Risk Reduction program recommended after a report of a Dec. 27 incident in which custodial workers incorrectly removed floor tiles, presumed at the time to contain asbestos. The district received 11 violation citations from the department contained in a letter dated July 21, with recommendations to be instituted to prevent similar situations from occurring in the future.
"Junior Coffman was moving carpet from one of the classrooms (Room 204) and the tiles came loose from underneath the carpet,'' Chamberlain recalled. "When the tile came up, the tiles were presumed to be asbestos tile.''
Rather than calling someone experienced in handling asbestos to remove the tile, Chamberlain said Coffman directed his staff to remove the rest of the tile. He said after he found out about the incident, he had Coffman contact Safespace to test the air quality in the room. "We brought fans in and blew dust all over, and took an air sample. The sample of the air said that it didn't contain asbestos.''
"We've done everything we were supposed to do, we had the floor tile tested, because it was presumed to contain asbestos, but it was not asbestos,'' Chamberlain said. "It was found that the paste, used to glue down the tiles, does contain asbestos. But we've had the room tested and the tile tested; if they had took the tile up, and just thrown water on the floor, they would have killed the dust.''
Chamberlain said any number of older school buildings could contain asbestos tile, yet floor tile is a minor concern when considering potential health hazards. "They are more concerned with the asbestos used in ceilings and wrappings around pipes.''
One of the changes required following their violation notification was that the district have at least one person with the training in asbestos, or hazardous material handling. Chamberlain said two employees have now been trained. He said this will be more cost effective to the district to have employees trained to remove this material now, rather than the use of an outside removal company.
"It happened over Christmas vacation,'' Chamberlain reiterated. "And as soon as I found out about it, I had Safespace brought in and did the testing to make sure everything was alright.''
The district was required to post the violation notices for three days in the junior high building, and all procedural changes required were made, Chamberlain said.
"Someone made a mistake, and it's been corrected,'' he added.