Cancer News, Treatment and Research

Officials from the Barrington Unit School District 220, located about 30 miles outside of Chicago, report that asbestos was found in three – possibly four – classrooms in the Sunny Hill Elementary School in the village of Carpentersville, prompting the evacuation of students from the affected areas. According to an article by Eric Peterson of the Daily Herald, residue from asbestos-based glue was found when maintenance workers were removing traditional white boards to replace them with new-fangled computerized Smart Boards. Tests performed after the finding determined that at least three or four of the seven classrooms in question contained the asbestos glue. A district spokesman noted that immediate efforts were made to contain the material and that the children assigned to those rooms have now been moved to other locations throughout the school. District officials maintain that the air quality of the rooms in question was tested and levels of asbestos were determined to be acceptable. It was noted that particles were “most likely” never released into the air in the classrooms, states another article about the situation that appeared in the Chicago Tribune. Schools erected prior to about 1980 are highly likely to have been built using asbestos-containing materials such as drywall adhesives , insulation, and floor and ceiling tiles. The presence of these materials can be dangerous when they become old and “friable”, releasing fibers that can be easily inhaled. Asbestos fibers can cause tumors to form in the lungs, resulting in a diagnosis of mesothelioma cancer years later. Since 1986, schools in the U.S. have been required to have asbestos maintenance plans in place and to train custodial workers to deal with potential asbestos emergencies and handling asbestos should a situation arise. Periodic inspections must be done in order to confirm that any asbestos materials remain in good condition or they most be removed or encapsulated so as to prevent asbestos exposure.