Finding a toxic substance in one of Ohio’s older buildings is scary enough without wondering whether it can safely be contained. For instance, when asbestos is found in a building, that area is supposed to be quarantined and the threat should be contained. However, residents or workers in the building may have concerns that they may contract a disease connected to any exposure that may occur.
For instance, a school gym in a nearby state recently went through asbestos abatement, which is the process in which the toxic substance is removed — supposedly safely. However, before allowing families in to receive food, testing was done to make sure that the area was free from asbestos. What they found was alarming.
The levels of asbestos in the sealed area, which was the gym, remained high, but that was not the worst of it. The hallway to the Pennsylvania school’s cafeteria tested five to 10 times higher than what is considered safe. That hallway is just outside the area in which the asbestos was supposedly contained. Fortunately, the test results arrived in time to protect families from exposure in that hallway, but not workers at the school who were not part of the abatement team. They had no protections as they moved through the area because they relied on the containment area to protect them.
This scenario could easily happen anywhere in the country, including here in Ohio. If asbestos abatement is not properly done and the toxins contained properly, innocent victims could suffer exposure without even knowing it. Due to their exposure, they could find themselves facing an uncertain future and the possibility of contracting an incurable disease.
