At the close of 2010, the Takoma Educational Center’s new school, the former Meyer Elementary School in Washington, D.C., had no heat, running water or kitchen facilities. The school’s 48 classrooms were in desperate need of cleaning, painting and furnishing. And as in most school buildings, asbestos was a serious issue.
Asbestos is a toxic mineral that was used liberally in construction over the past two centuries, but it’s use was eventually banned in the late 1980′s when it was found to cause fatal diseases, including asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the protective lining of the lungs, heart, chest and abdomen.
A December 22nd fire, which caused $ 2 million worth of damage to the second and third floors of Takoma’s previous building, left district officials with no choice but to reopen Meyer Elementary, which was closed in June 2008. Despite its many problems, at least the school building’s structure was still solid and in tact.
It took an immense effort to renovate the building over the short winter break, but miraculously the school opened on time. Keystone Plus Construction worked round-the-clock shifts to make it possible.
The cost of renovating the entire building was estimated at $ 1.5 million. Although there are still problems to be sorted, a new boiler was added, floors were re-tiled and pipes that hadn’t carried water in over two years were examined and fixed.
How much of the building’s asbestos was removed, if any, has not been reported. Parents can only hope that this renovated school building is as safe as promised and that their children will not be exposed to any substances that in a few decades will require the assistance of a mesothelioma attorney.
