Asbestos concerns at a Massachusetts high school

With planning for a renovation project underway at Wellesley High School in Massachusetts, a new topic of concern has risen among the building committee: how to deal with asbestos abatement.

A standard policy has already been in effect for elementary schools and middle schools in the community that required all asbestos abatement activity to take place after school, when all the students have left the building. According to school officials, the policy has been relatively easy to implement in the elementary schools because children generally leave right after school is over. Although it has proven to be more difficult at the middle school level, the same policy has been implemented as well.

However, when presented to the School Committee at Wellesley High School, this policy has faced much scrutiny. It was pointed out that a lot of extracurricular activities occur after school at the high school level, and students are there even during evening hours. With the school building renovation project soon to come, the asbestos abatement issue is receiving early attention from the School Committee which is currently coming up with different options for the problem.

At a recent hearing run by the committee, citizens discussed their concerns. Some of the suggestions brought up included scheduling the abatement during school vacations, holidays, or the summer when there is much less activity in the building. No final decision was reached since the committee decided it was too early in the process, especially considering how new design and construction plans for the building have not yet been finished.

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