UPDATE:
KDKA in Pittsburgh, PA (CBS) aired a news segment on the story below, with angry parents and school board members yelling at the Tremco Rep. You can see it here:
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According to the articles referred to below in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
A roofing contractor's workers on an elementary school job in Pittsburgh , PA
Work continued while tests were made that proved positive for asbestos, with faculty and students left in place.
A School Board member questioned the Tremco Rep as to why they had not tested the roof for asbestos prior to the start of work; their reply was that the School District had supplied them with documentation that there was no asbestos in the existing roof.
According to the articles, so far, two School Board Members had not yet received a copy of that documentation said to have been supplied by the School District .
Updates as they happen……
From the
Park Elementary School remains closed
Thursday, September 18, 2008
""The district was notified Sept. 8 that core samples taken from the roof tested positive for asbestos. Parents were notified Tuesday afternoon, and 350 students in grades one through five continued to attend the school until it was closed Tuesday night."
"Dave Zazac, a spokesman for the Allegheny County Health Department........said the type of asbestos found in the roof was compressed, rather than airborne, and was unlikely to pose any health risk to students or staff.
Similar comments were made by Bruce Mancini, of Tremco, the roofing project manger, at Tuesday's board meeting. But parents said they did not believe him and questioned why information about the asbestos was kept from them.
At the meeting, Park fourth-grade teacher Kevin Tomasic produced a chunk of the roof that he said a student had given to him. He said the chunk would be sent for testing.
Mr. Zazac .... described the material as 'foam that was bonded to the roof' and said it did not contain asbestos. The district release said contractor Phoenix Roofing notified the district Sept. 5 that workers suspected asbestos was present in the roofing material they were removing."
"When district administrators learned Sept. 8 that the materials tested positive for asbestos, the roofing project was stopped.
Despite those test results, Mark Cherpak, the district's director of operational services, told a Post-Gazette reporter Sept. 11 that the district was still unsure whether asbestos was in the roof.
On Monday, Mr. Cherpak acknowledged that he lied and confirmed that asbestos had been found in six of eight core samples taken from the roof. He said he did so because not all of the school board members knew and he didn't want them reading about it in the newspaper.
The district did not inform parents that asbestos was in the roof until after an article about it appeared Tuesday in the Post-Gazette. That afternoon, students took home a letter in their weekly information folder from the school."
"Mrs. Cannon and other board members questioned Mr. Mancini on Tuesday about why his firm didn't test roof samples for asbestos before embarking on the project. Mr. Mancini said the district provided him with an asbestos inspection report from 2005 that said the school was asbestos-free.
Board members told Mr. Cherpak they wanted to see copies of that report to determine who did the inspection. As of yesterday, neither Mrs. Terrick nor Mrs. Cannon had received a copy.
Mrs. Cannon expressed anger at Tuesday's meeting that the roofing project was still in process during the school year. She said the schedule for the project called for it to be completed before school started Aug. 28.
If the project had gone as scheduled, she said, the asbestos problem would have been discovered 'before the kids ever went into that building.' "
And excerpts below from:
Asbestos closes Munhall school
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08261/912686-55.stm"Two days after
"The roofing contractor, Phoenix Roofing, has submitted an asbestos abatement plan to the health department, and board members said last night they also want to review that document.
On Monday, the district's director of operations, Mark Cherpak, confirmed for the Post-Gazette that repair work on the roof had stopped and that asbestos had been found in the core samples.
Mr. Cherpak also acknowledged that he lied to a Post-Gazette reporter when he was asked on Sept. 11 if there was asbestos in the school building's roof. At the time, he said the tests on the core samples had not been completed. However, the district received the report on the core samples on Sept. 8, and board members were briefed on the results the following day."
"At last night's meeting, Bruce Mancini, of Tremco, the firm that is supplying materials for the roofing project, told parents that the asbestos found in the roof was not friable, or airborne, and posed no health threat.
Acting board President Pam Terrick said students would not return to the school until officials were assured by county health officials that the school was safe."
