Asbestos-riddled New Jersey school to undergo asbestos abatement
A school in Bloomingdale, New Jersey will undergo asbestos abatement this summer, reports NorthJersey.com. The Bloomingdale school district hopes to have the tile removal project finished before the start of the 2010-2011 school year. The asbestos will be removed from the upper and lower levels of the Martha B. Day School.
The asbestos abatement bid was awarded to Two Brothers Contracting of Clifton, New Jersey. The asbestos removal bid for the upper level of Martha B. Day School was awarded to the company for $23,431. The asbestos removal for the lower level will cost the district an additional $12,320.
Once the asbestos is removed, the school will be safer for employees and students. Asbestos is a highly hazardous material, known to cause mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer. Mesothelioma is an aggressive asbestos-related cancer, known to affect 3,000 Americans each year. The disease most commonly forms from the internal lining of the chest cavity.
Due to a latency period of 10 to 50 years, symptoms of the disease lie dormant for an extended period of time. Because of this, even the best mesothelioma doctors struggle to diagnose patients in the early stages of their disease. Following diagnosis, mesothelioma patients often endure chemo, radiation, or mesothelioma surgery in an attempt to increase their life expectancy beyond the usual twenty-four months.
George Hagl, school district business administrator, noted that the asbestos abatement project will get underway in two weeks, and finish within another two.