Another School Year Opens With
Questions Of Asbestos

By Stephen McGuire

Imagine looking out of the living room window around 11 p.m. in the evening and visible through the darkness are men in strange suits who can be seen tooling away at the façade of a building across the street.

Signs at the Francis Lewis construction sight warn neighbors and workers of asbestos removal locations. (Above) Nighttime asbestos work on the exterior of Francis Lewis High School.

This was the scene this week at Francis Lewis High School, along with posted signs that warn "Danger, Asbestos, Cancer and Lung Disease Hazard," and the scene may be repeated at 88 other Queens schools where modernization work is being done. At presstime, the School Construction Authority could not tell the Queens Tribune which of these projects would involve asbestos removal.

Francis Lewis Modernization Explanation

School Construction Authority officials told the Tribune that a letter was sent out to neighbors of the school at the onset of the project and that the men in protective gear are there to participate in an "exterior modernization" of the building which includes an asbestos abatement of the roof.

A copy of the letter addressed to residents stated "The existing roof contains some non-friable asbestos material. Disturbance of non-friable asbestos material does not easily create airborne fibers or pose potential fiber exposure to surrounding occupants." The letter added that air quality test results "will be made available to all interested parties."

Saying that all the abatement work will take place after school hours, Mary Leas, community relations director for the SCA in Queens and author of the letter to area residents explained, weather permitting, the asbestos removal part of the job "will almost be completed by the beginning of school."

"The Board of Ed goes above and beyond Dept. of Environmental Protection (the group that monitors private locations and businesses) requirements," said Leas of the nature of the abatement work done in City schools.

To the right are asbestos danger signs located, as you can see, near where unprotected young people pass by and just feet from the sidewalk.

"Qualified workers will be conducting air testing and environmental consultants will monitor the site," said Deborah Perry, an SCA spokesperson. Terry Thomson, the Queens representative to the Board of Education, checked into the conditions at Francis Lewis High School this week and reported to the Tribune that an outside environmental monitoring group is checking the air quality within the school daily.

At presstime, SCA officials said that a meeting between parents of Francis Lewis students and construction experts was in the works and planned to be held after school starts.

Is There Still Asbestos In Queens Schools?

In 1993, the school year was delayed as School Construction Authority crews tested for dangerous asbestos conditions – which requires that the asbestos is damaged and free-floating in the air.

According to Leas, asbestos is still prevalent in some form in many school buildings throughout the city since many of the buildings were built at a time when it was used freely for a number of purposes. Concern is only necessary when the asbestos has become airborne or construction crews working on a project find they need to disturb or remove it.

There are presently 88 capital improvement projects similar to the modernization happening at Francis Lewis but when the Tribune asked the SCA what other schools in the borough were undergoing asbestos abatement as part of those projects, the officials could not provide a list of schools where asbestos concerns were being addressed.

Community Reacts

"I’m extremely concerned," said Antoinette Mutarelli, vice president of the Parent Teacher Association at Francis Lewis.

Mutarelli argued that there has been no formal notification of parents about the asbestos-related work being done as part of the school’s modernization project.

"It can’t be safe. Why are they wearing respirator suits?" Mutarelli asked questioning the safety of her two children upon their return to school at Francis Lewis on Sept. 9.

"I was wondering what was going on," explained Amanda Christon, a law student who lives in one of the two family homes across from the school.

A neighbor of Christon who spoke to the Tribune on the condition of anonymity, saying "I feel very uncomfortable.

"They have a lot of nerve doing this and not telling us," the neighbor said adding that she received no notification about any work going on at Francis Lewis.

What Is Asbestos?

Asbestos is known in the construction industry for being fire resistant and tough. As a mineral it exists in rock formations and after a mining process it can be processed into a material comprised of small fluffy fibers.

The individual fibers, according to the American Lung Association, are 1,200 times smaller than a human hair and are invisible unless viewed under a microscope.

Prior to 1972 – when New York City banned the use of asbestos in new building construction — asbestos was used as insulation around hot water pipes and boilers, fireproof materials, roof materials, car brakes and paper products.

When Is Asbestos Dangerous?

According to the American Lung Association, materials containing asbestos are not dangerous unless the microscopic fibers contained within are released into the air.

Research in recent years has linked inhalation of asbestos to respiratory infection and lung, intestinal, stomach and rectal cancers.

Because asbestos fibers are tiny and weigh very little, they can remain airborne for hours after they are released, increasing the chance that they can be inhaled unknowingly.

According to the New York City Dept. of Health, asbestos fibers, when breathed in, end up in the mucous that coats the lungs.

In some cases these fibers stick inside lung cells where they may stay for a lifetime.

Release of asbestos fibers depends on the condition of the material it is contained in.

"Friable" materials — anything that is dry and crumbles easily — are more likely to release dangerous fibers into the air than "non-friable materials."

But the American Lung Association claims that "even non-friable materials can release fibers when they are sanded sawed, drilled, pulled apart or disturbed in any way.

Informational literature distributed by the Lung Association contends that "Repairing, renovating or demolishing such (non-friable) materials can cause fibers to be released."

An expert with a local asbestos abatement firm who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told the Tribune that "it is not impossible for non-friable asbestos to become airborne, but it does depend on the material."

Who Is At Risk?

City Health officials deem asbestos "not very dangerous" unless persons are both exposed to the material on the job and smoke cigarettes.

Construction workers and anyone involved in repairing, remodeling or tearing down a building may be exposed to asbestos, according to the American Lung Association officials who state that fibers may be released during building demolition or reconstruction.

Because of the nature of their work, firefighters, service and maintenance workers and auto mechanics are considered to be within the group at highest risk of developing an asbestos related illness.