School officials have just released additional information about the asbestos removal that is currently in progress at the Phillip Showell Elementary School in Selbyville, Delaware.

Parents and members of the community were concerned when news broke that asbestos abatement would be going on while students were still in school. However, school officials have now explained that the asbestos abatement must happen while school is still in session in order for the school to stick to its tight construction time line.

According to Dave Maull of the Indian River School District, work is being done in the Clayton Building, which houses Phillip Showell Elementary. Following asbestos removal, the building will be completely gutted and then rebuilt by September 2010.

After a series of issues related to asbestos in school buildings in the state of Iowa, environmental and school officials nationwide want to spread the word about the dangers of asbestos, and how it should be disposed of properly.

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that was once commonly used in fireproofing and other building applications. It is now known that asbestos causes mesothelioma, among other deadly diseases.

For parents of elementary-age children, the thought of their child developing an asbestos disease in the future is very scary. Typically, newly diagnosed mesothelioma patients are in their late fifties to mid-seventies when they are diagnosed, and it is often very difficult to determine exactly where and when they were actually exposed to asbestos.

Asbestos is most commonly found in older buildings and must be dealt with carefully to prevent accidental asbestos exposure. Generally, asbestos-tainted material has to be moistened and double wrapped in plastic before it is painstakingly removed. It is then taken to a landfill, where it is clearly marked and buried.

Although asbestos regulations were implanted in the early eighties, asbestos materials, such as insulation and floor tiles, are still found in over 30 million homes, commercial buildings and schools across the country. Due to the high cost of abatement, air quality monitoring, disposal and replacement of contaminated products, school districts are often unable to cover the cost of asbestos abatement without the aid of state or federal funding.

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