About 3,000 square feet of floor tiles will be taken out
By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
WEST AMWELL — South Hunterdon Regional High School’s Board of Education has authorized spending $13,500 for asbestos removal, some of which began last week.
About 3,000 square feet of asbestos-containing floor tiles will be removed from the A wing, the B wing, the art classroom and the home economics room. Work in the B wing started Aug. 16, the same evening the board authorized the work during a meeting held at the former West Amwell Fire Company.
The board did not meet in the usual location of the school’s cafeteria because of a lack of lights and air conditioning. South Hunterdon is in the middle of new construction and upgrades.
As part of the larger upgrade project, new ventilation for heating and air conditioning systems will be installed, prompting the asbestos removal now. When the old ventilators were removed, some of the floor tiles cracked and became loose, according to Business Administrator Fran Tolley.
”As a public institution, we are responsible for monitoring the health, safety and welfare of our employees, students and visitors,” she said.
Some vinyl floor tile and mastic, or glue, contain asbestos.
Damaged materials are more likely to release asbestos fibers than non-damaged materials, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Asbestos is a mineral that when crushed breaks up into particles so fine, they cannot be seen by the eye but they can be inhaled into the lungs. Serious damage and diseases can result, including lung cancer. Risk depends upon exposure, according to the EPA.
The EPA recommends in-place management whenever asbestos is discovered except during a building’s renovation or demolition.
Some material, such as older vinyl floor tile, also can release asbestos when “sanded, sawed or otherwise aggressively disturbed,” according to the EPA.
As the new ventilators are installed, the tile is being replaced around them. It amounts to a strip of about 3 feet by 25 feet in each classroom, Ms. Tolley said.
Last year, the removal of some floor tiles because of asbestos was performed in two classrooms of the B wing and two in the A wing in preparation for the installation of a moving partition. The partition was an option considered as part of the construction and upgrade project, but officials have since decided not to install it, Ms. Tolley said.
The upgrades and renovations were approved by voters in a $20.8 million referendum in 2005. Completion is anticipated in 2008.

