Asbestos Case Study: A School and Ceiling Tiles
Asbestos is a mineral that was used prevalently in the middle 1900’s as a building material. Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral in the earth’s crust, that was once mined in the United States. Currently, the mining of asbestos is banned in the United States, and the use of asbestos is highly regulated. During the peak use of asbestos, it was used primarily for its insulating properties, for heat protection and sound dampening. Some examples of use include fire protection equipment for fire fighters, drywall, ceiling tiles, and insulation around pipe and boilers. Many schools built during the mid-1900’s contain asbestos. For this case study, a hypothetical school, Big Bend Elementary, contains
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This begins with meeting the government guidelines discussed above. If a ceiling tile is disturbed that contains asbestos, that area of the school should be blocked, and the air ventilation ducts in the area should be covered to prevent the spread of asbestos. Next an asbestos professional should be called, and the district should notify the community of the accident. The air quality in the school should be checked, and once safe levels are measured, the school can be reopened. Once the area has been cleaned, and the tile has been properly removed the school should asses how the accident occurred, and what can be done to prevent future infractions.
Managing the asbestos ceiling tiles at Big Bend Elementary will be an ongoing concern until the asbestos can be properly removed by professionals. In the meantime, the school must follow all government regulations set forth to protect the users of the learning facility. When handled properly, the ceiling tiles in the school pose little to no risk of harming the inhabitants. With adequate knowledge and communication, the risk of asbestos at the school can be limited for the foreseeable
No greater obligation is placed on school officials than to protect the children in their charge from foreseeable dangers, whether those dangers arise from the careless acts or intentional transgressions of others. Although the overarching mission of a board of education is to educate, its first imperative must be to do no harm to the children in its care. A board of education must take reasonable measures to assure that the teachers and administrators who stand as surrogate parents during the day are educating, not endangering, and protecting, not exploiting, vulnerable children (Frugis v. Bracigliano, 2003).
December 1st, 1958 tragedy comes to Chicago, the catholic school Our Lady of Angels is a blase a fire has started in the basement of the north wing of the school at the bottom of the stairwell and is roaring through the north wing in a matter of minuets despite the best efforts of the Chicago fire department the north wing is nearly a total loss resulting in the death of 90 people died in the blaze and 5 more were critically injured resulting in deaths. Through my research I have sought to find the role that the construction of the building has played in the precipitation of this tragedy.
Question: In considering the monetary estimates of childhood lead poisoning prevention, list and note the relative importance of the categories of costs and benefits that need to be considered is projecting a cost/benefit ratio. Use a standard housing remediation approach for those expenses. Where does the balance lay? What are the options and barriers to moving it forward?General Effects of Childhood Lead Poisoning When lead in inhaled it, the lead could be deposited in the bones where some essential body function occurs e.g. blood formations, calcium absorption. Lead is also transported in blood stream and deposited in muscle and nerves and blood vessels. The deposition of lead in these organs systems eventually results in the malfunctioning of these organs. These malfunctions could include decrease in bone and muscle growth/co-ordination, damage to the nervous system and other organs of the body. (KidsHealth, 1995-2010) The above mentioned effects could also impair breakdown and use of nutrients by the body, decreased hearing ability. In addition, it affects child growth, in the sense that it has been shown that children with higher blood lead levels may on average be shorter than their genetic potential by 1cm.Effect of Lead on cognition and Behavior of Children: Lead poisoning have been identified as one of the factors responsible for cognitive deficits and mental illness among children. There has been shown a correlation between Blood Lead Level and cognitive functioning in children and infant (Bruce P. Lanphear, 2005). Bruce P et al in a study of Low-level environmental lead exposure and children's intellectual function, showed an inverse relationship between blood lead concentrations and IQ score...
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established simple straight forward instructions on how to handle Asbestos, for the purpose of protecting the general public’s
Exploring of Asbestos Asbestos (Greek a-, "not"; sbestos, "extinguishable") is a group of fibrous metamorphic minerals. The name is derived for its historical use in lamp wicks; the resistance of asbestos to fire has long been exploited for a variety of purposes. It was used in fabrics such as Egyptian burial cloths and Charlemagne's tablecloth, which, according to legend, he threw in a fire to clean. When asbestos is used for its resistance to fire or heat, the fibres are typically mixed with cement or woven into fabric or mats. It was used in brake shoes and gaskets for its heat resistance, on electric oven and hotplate wiring for its electrical insulation at elevated temperature, and in buildings for its flame-retardant and insulating properties, its tensile strength, flexibility, and resistance to chemicals.
However, some students have seen the damage in the school and thinks the school board
producing a earthquake safe environment. In a nuclear facility that in itself is a danger, an honest
Radon gas is currently the leading cause of lung cancer in the nonsmokers. Radon gas is harmless in small amounts but sometimes becomes concentrated in homes built on soil wi...
TORT and personal liability claims can be levied against individuals that deny a person their rights. Most school officials are protected by qualified immunity. This can be lost if procedures and policy are not followed at all times. This can be a difficult task if administrators and teachers do not stay abreast with current education law.
Reese, C.D. and Eidson, J.V. (1999). Handbook of OSHA construction safety and health. Boca Raton, FL. CRC Press
The school provides a safe environment for students to accomplish academic, social and emotional development. The leadership of a building will include effective decision making, human resource management, mission or purpose, understanding of change, relationship buildi...
Hazardous materials can be important in everyday life when properly handled. However, when improperly handled, they can result in injury, death, and destruction as well as have lingering effects that may last for years to come. To address the risk of an uncontrolled hazardous materials release, there must be a coordinated effort to identify, locate, and quantify the hazardous materials in a particular location (Drexel University Safety & Health, 2001). Typically, industry and government agree that a hazardous materials incident is one where
Markins, Charles. “School Fundings.” Pittsburg Post-Gazette 12 Feb. 2001: B 12 Craig, Robert. “Safe School Prevention.” Rolf Jenson & A ssociates 62.22
Thousands of people are affected by the lack of school safety in schools across the nation. Students everywhere are attending schools that are more dangerous than expected. This is a growing concern everywhere, and schools need to improve, or else they are prone to being unsafe. Whether it is building, drill, concussion, social, or technology safety, schools need to improve to lower the risk of an incident.
Technological and accidental hazards can be occur without warning and can be both hazardous material incidents and failures at nuclear power plant. In some cases, victims that have been exposed to harmful chemicals or radiation show little to no symptoms until several years later. There are an increasing number of new substances and chemicals being manufactured which has increased the likelihood of a hazardous material spill or release. This also increases the risk to the environment and to the health and safety of a community.