New asbestos concerns halt work at Roosevelt

Irma Lemus

MAGNOLIA PARK -- To shield workers from potential exposure to

cancer-causing asbestos, the California Occupational Safety and Health

Administration shut down a portion of construction at Theodore Roosevelt

Elementary School, officials said.

As with the discovery of asbestos in a crawl space at Edison

Elementary School on July 5, district officials said the possible

contamination does not pose health risks for students, school employees

or construction workers.

Wednesday morning’s work stoppage was due to suspicious materials

discovered in the reception area of the administration building and a

trash bin, said Cal/OSHA spokesman Dean Fryer.

Fryer said Cal/OSHA and South Coast Air Quality Management District

investigators found the material in a 50-foot section of pipe wrapping

behind a wall in the school administration building.

Samples of the material were sent to a laboratory to be analyzed for

asbestos, Fryer said. Results will be made available in a week, he said.

A trash bin outside the school was also suspected of containing

asbestos materials, he said. The Dumpster was covered and sealed to avoid

contamination.

“It’s too early to tell if there is asbestos out there. If there is,

the district will need to hire an asbestos abatement company to clean it

up,” Fryer said.

Fryer said Cal/OSHA is conducting an investigation to see if there

were any violations by the district or contractors in the way asbestos

was handled.

Asbestos abatement may not be the only problem for the Burbank

district.

Some construction workers may file a lawsuit against the district for

exposing them to the carcinogen, said Santa Monica attorney Steven

Ameche.

Ameche was hired by several construction workers working at Roosevelt

and Thomas Edison Elementary. Although no legal action has been taken,

Ameche said he will conduct his own investigation.

“I want to be fair to the district. All I will say is that right now

we are looking into whether these workers were exposed to asbestos and

who is responsible,” Ameche said.

Ali Kiafar, Burbank Unified’s assistant superintendent of planning,

development and facilities, said only a small portion of Roosevelt was

shut down and crews were not in danger.

“The suspicious material was found behind a wall so no students or

workers came in contact with it. As soon as a contractor finds something

they call us immediately and we take care of it,” he said.

Kiafar said the district’s asbestos abatement consultant, Deltech

Engineering, took samples of the material Thursday.

Deltech General Manager Ebbiteanga Abili said that if the suspected

materials contain asbestos, a clean up would begin immediately. Because

the affected area is small, the job would only take one or two days, he

said.

The discovery of asbestos at Roosevelt followed the start of clean up

work at Edison last week. Cleaning crews are expected to complete that

task in the next few days.

As part of the major construction projects going on at Burbank

schools, the district surveys all campuses for asbestos. Kiafar said it

is common to find asbestos in old buildings and the district has taken

proper measures to avoid contamination.