Asbestos Exposure at Old School Becomes Parents' Worst Nightmare

Parents in the Niagara Falls, New York area have become increasingly worried after their children were directly exposed to sizable quantities of asbestos near a former junior high school. The children mistakenly thought the dangerous substance was chalk. A known carcinogen, asbestos is a toxic yet naturally forming mineral that was commonly used in building materials because of its industrial properties. Schools are a common location where asbestos was used. Exposure to it has been linked to the development of multiple cancers, like mesothelioma and lung cancer. Tammy Shermer is a parent of one of the children who directly interacted with the chalk-like asbestos. Understandably, she is angry, worried and concerned. "I thought it was actually chalk. My daughter said it was chalk, so I just thought some kids brought chalk and they were having fun playing sidewalk chalk." At this point, parents like Shermer are looking for answers about how this happened and what is being done to protect local residents and their children. What Caused the Exposure? School officials blame vandalism as the initial cause of exposure. Vandals stole hot water pipes from the old school. As they did so, asbestos material was left all of over the ground. Asbestos is used in thousands of products, including pipes, tiles, flooring, heating units and countless others. Former South Junior High School had such asbestos-containing pipes that were damaged through the criminal acts. Local children discovered th...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Asbestos Exposure & Bans Source Type: news