NPDC air samples near school come up negative

Work set to begin on removing asbestos-covered steam pipes

By: Greg Forester
   MONTGOMERY — With the removal of asbestos-covered pipes from the North Princeton Developmental Center set to begin next week, air samples of the environment around the Village Elementary School came up negative for asbestos, school officials said.
   "We received the two air samples back, and there were no asbestos fibers found outside the school," said board Secretary Timothy Stys at the board meeting at the Upper Middle School on Tuesday.
   The tests were performed at six locations around the school, which is located in the heart of the 250-acre former state institution, Mr. Stys said.
   The two different types of tests were run for 100 minutes each, and all came up negative for the presence of asbestos fibers, officials said.
   Even with the negative tests, some members of the board said they still wished for tests to be conducted within the school.
   "Parents are worried about where the kids are," said board member Dr. Saul Rubinstein. "Like the outside test, we expect this one to come up clean."
   Mr. Stys said the engineer that performed the tests assured district officials the indoor tests were unnecessary.
   "He said only the outdoor test were needed," said Mr. Stys. "The outdoor tests are closer to the source of the asbestos."
   The board has since moved to conduct testing within the building anyway, to allay parental fears and establish a more thorough baseline for the testing prior to the beginning of demolition.
   The current testing plan was put into action in order to establish a baseline for tests to be conducted at the conclusion of the work to be done over the summer vacation.
   This includes the abatement and demolition of approximately 90 buildings on the site.
   Although the demolition plan provides for an end date several days before the school year begins, the district is still examining the best options in case the demolition and cleanup takes longer than expected.
   These options include holding split sessions at one of the other schools, and looking into having trailers put at some location within the district.
   "We hope and expect we won’t need to move the kids, but we will have a plan in place in case we need to," Dr. Rubinstein said.
   Although residents have continually said they remained very concerned about having children at the school while the asbestos work was being carried out, board members responded that they were going about the project in the safest way.
   "I have a child in that school," said Dr. Rubinstein. "But the state has said we need to remove those pipes as soon as possible."
   The removal of pipes, set to begin sometime next week, will start with portions of the aboveground pipes located far away from the school.
   The removal of pipes in close proximity to the school will only be done during spring break when no children are present at school.