Asbestos abatement to occur at Maryland schools prior to large renovation project

Many Washington County Public Schools will undergo improvements this summer, and it will reportedly cost more than $10.9 million for the list of Maryland schools to improve several sections of their buildings, according to the Herald Mail.
The majority of projects are expected to conclude this summer. However, two heating, ventilation and air conditioning projects, at Boonsboro Middle School and Emma K. Doub School for Integrate Arts & Technology, have been postponed until 2011.
Work at Funkstown School for Early Childhood Education will carry into the fall.
Asbestos abatement is set to occur at E. Russell Hicks Middle School, Emma K. Doub School for Integrated Arts & Technology, Smithsburg High School, Western Heights Middle School, Williamsport High School and Winter Street Elementary School.
The asbestos removal must occur before any further improvements or renovations may begin. When asbestos is disturbed, without first being properly removed, toxic particles are released into the air. When the asbestos particles are inhaled, those exposed are put at serious risk for contracting asbestosis, lung cancer, or even worse, mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive disease which affects nearly 3,000 Americans each year.
Symptoms of the disease lie dormant for several decades, and because of this, mesothelioma doctors struggle to diagnose patients with the disease early on. There is no mesothelioma cure.
Director of maintenance and operations, Mark J. Mills, noted that the school system is sharing the total projects’ cost. However, a few projects, such as window replacements, have other funding sources.