Students and Staff Exposed to Asbestos in Australian School

MURAMBA DOWNS, Aus. - On April 7, 2009, air conditioning workers cut into asbestos-containing fibro wallboard in a double-size, third grade classroom just a few yards from a play area at the Queensland Teachers Union school in Muramba Downs, which is just north of Brisbane. Asbestos is a known carcinogen (cancer-causing agent), and a cloud of asbestos-contaminated dust was created by the work being performed at the school during the student's lunch break.

When it was discovered that the fibro wallboard contained up to 15% asbestos fibers, and staff "observed incorrect procedures being used", the school was immediately closed. Students were subsequently relocated to other institutions, and their parents (according to school officials) were sent letters that contained details of the school's asbestos contamination. Many parents, however, say they only learned of the asbestos situation by reading about it in a recently released school newsletter, part of which read, "It was confirmed that wall sheeting in the classroom contained asbestos."

Asbestos can be found in great abundance around the world, and the naturally occurring silicate mineral has been much favored by mankind for thousands of years. Asbestos is nearly fireproof, is an excellent insulator, resists damage from harsh chemical corrosives and more. Because of its numerous desirable properties, industries around the world have included asbestos in countless products that are all around us - including building materials.

In the early 1970s, medical and scientific experts confirmed that friable (crushable), airborne asbestos fibers posed a serious risk to human health. Once inhaled into the lungs, asbestos fibers can remain there undetected for decades before causing the onset of serious respiratory diseases, including the most dreaded - malignant pleural mesothelioma, an aggressive, incurable, and deadly form of cancer. Because of its asbestos' extreme toxicity, school officials, teachers, students, and parents are concerned about the cloud of asbestos-contaminated dust that scattered over the third grade classroom.

Now that the school is temporarily closed, workers wearing protective clothing and respirators have been discarding computers, replacing carpeting, and performing numerous other asbestos abatement procedures at the school.

The entire incident caught the attention of Australian Workplace Health and Safety officials who are now investigating the situation - investigators were informed of the fact that the school's principal, Mark Hunter, provided the air conditioning contractor with all required asbestos location registry information, which should have alerted workers to the dangers of using improper methods to perforate the fibro wallboard. In the meantime, school officials have been busy trying to assure teachers, students, and parents that the incident has not jeopardized anyone's health.

When contacted about the asbestos-related health risk to those at the school, Flanders University Professor Douglas Henderson (a medical expert) said, "The risk of contracting a disease after brief exposure to dust would be low, particularly if it was the less harmful white asbestos used in some buildings built after 1983."

Asbestos samples from the school have yet to be analyzed, but Professor Henderson is correct when he speaks about white or chrysotile asbestos, which accounts for approximately 95% of all asbestos used in various building materials. Chrysotile asbestos fibers are less likely to cause disease, though, any exposure to any type of asbestos should be avoided. Many parents of children at the school continue to have doubts about the building's safety.

Carol Gardiner, whose seven year old son, Dylan, is a student at the school is very concerned about the asbestos scare. "I would like an explanation and assurance that there was no asbestos contamination." Teachers and school officials are still waiting for the results of air sample tests that were recently performed at the school, and until they know it is safe, all school personnel are refusing to reenter the building.

Source: News Limited

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