Asbestos Case Study: A School and Ceiling Tiles
Asbestos is a mineral that was used prevalently in the middle 1900’s as a building material. Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral in the earth’s crust, that was once mined in the United States. Currently, the mining of asbestos is banned in the United States, and the use of asbestos is highly regulated. During the peak use of asbestos, it was used primarily for its insulating properties, for heat protection and sound dampening. Some examples of use include fire protection equipment for fire fighters, drywall, ceiling tiles, and insulation around pipe and boilers. Many schools built during the mid-1900’s contain asbestos. For this case study, a hypothetical school, Big Bend Elementary, contains
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This begins with meeting the government guidelines discussed above. If a ceiling tile is disturbed that contains asbestos, that area of the school should be blocked, and the air ventilation ducts in the area should be covered to prevent the spread of asbestos. Next an asbestos professional should be called, and the district should notify the community of the accident. The air quality in the school should be checked, and once safe levels are measured, the school can be reopened. Once the area has been cleaned, and the tile has been properly removed the school should asses how the accident occurred, and what can be done to prevent future infractions.
Managing the asbestos ceiling tiles at Big Bend Elementary will be an ongoing concern until the asbestos can be properly removed by professionals. In the meantime, the school must follow all government regulations set forth to protect the users of the learning facility. When handled properly, the ceiling tiles in the school pose little to no risk of harming the inhabitants. With adequate knowledge and communication, the risk of asbestos at the school can be limited for the foreseeable
No greater obligation is placed on school officials than to protect the children in their charge from foreseeable dangers, whether those dangers arise from the careless acts or intentional transgressions of others. Although the overarching mission of a board of education is to educate, its first imperative must be to do no harm to the children in its care. A board of education must take reasonable measures to assure that the teachers and administrators who stand as surrogate parents during the day are educating, not endangering, and protecting, not exploiting, vulnerable children (Frugis v. Bracigliano, 2003).
The minority countered this argument when the school board said, “it is our duty, our moral obligation, to protect the children in our school from this moral danger as surely as from physical and medical dangers” (qtd. in Board of
December 1st, 1958 tragedy comes to Chicago, the catholic school Our Lady of Angels is a blase a fire has started in the basement of the north wing of the school at the bottom of the stairwell and is roaring through the north wing in a matter of minuets despite the best efforts of the Chicago fire department the north wing is nearly a total loss resulting in the death of 90 people died in the blaze and 5 more were critically injured resulting in deaths. Through my research I have sought to find the role that the construction of the building has played in the precipitation of this tragedy.
The leading issue of the WA DoE Duty of Care for Students Policy is stated in Section 1.A “Teaching staff owe a duty to take reasonable care for the safety and welfare of students whilst students are involved in school activities or are present for the purposes of a school activity” (WA DoE, 2007, p. 3). This means teachers are legally responsible to protect students from reasonably foreseeable risks of harm whenever a relationship exists between a teacher and a student. Some examples include in the playground, the classroom or during a school excursion. The second important issue addressed in the WA DoE Duty of Care for Students Policy is how teachers use their professional judgement to assess dangers, guard against risk of injury to students, and determine levels of care required, based on their knowledge of individual students and the type of school activity undertaken.... ...
Question: In considering the monetary estimates of childhood lead poisoning prevention, list and note the relative importance of the categories of costs and benefits that need to be considered is projecting a cost/benefit ratio. Use a standard housing remediation approach for those expenses. Where does the balance lay? What are the options and barriers to moving it forward?General Effects of Childhood Lead Poisoning When lead in inhaled it, the lead could be deposited in the bones where some essential body function occurs e.g. blood formations, calcium absorption. Lead is also transported in blood stream and deposited in muscle and nerves and blood vessels. The deposition of lead in these organs systems eventually results in the malfunctioning of these organs. These malfunctions could include decrease in bone and muscle growth/co-ordination, damage to the nervous system and other organs of the body. (KidsHealth, 1995-2010) The above mentioned effects could also impair breakdown and use of nutrients by the body, decreased hearing ability. In addition, it affects child growth, in the sense that it has been shown that children with higher blood lead levels may on average be shorter than their genetic potential by 1cm.Effect of Lead on cognition and Behavior of Children: Lead poisoning have been identified as one of the factors responsible for cognitive deficits and mental illness among children. There has been shown a correlation between Blood Lead Level and cognitive functioning in children and infant (Bruce P. Lanphear, 2005). Bruce P et al in a study of Low-level environmental lead exposure and children's intellectual function, showed an inverse relationship between blood lead concentrations and IQ score...
The school is to protect the students from any wrong doing towards them. Such act, parents, school official and other authorities will be contacted. The case in Oakland County MI, opens many eyes for students and parents. The school board has responsibility to report such harm. This is not taken lightly, serious offense. Students could face years in prison, or face felonies.
Radon gas is currently the leading cause of lung cancer in the nonsmokers. Radon gas is harmless in small amounts but sometimes becomes concentrated in homes built on soil wi...
producing a earthquake safe environment. In a nuclear facility that in itself is a danger, an honest
However, some students have seen the damage in the school and thinks the school board
Hazardous materials can be important in everyday life when properly handled. However, when improperly handled, they can result in injury, death, and destruction as well as have lingering effects that may last for years to come. To address the risk of an uncontrolled hazardous materials release, there must be a coordinated effort to identify, locate, and quantify the hazardous materials in a particular location (Drexel University Safety & Health, 2001). Typically, industry and government agree that a hazardous materials incident is one where
Reese, C.D. and Eidson, J.V. (1999). Handbook of OSHA construction safety and health. Boca Raton, FL. CRC Press
The school provides a safe environment for students to accomplish academic, social and emotional development. The leadership of a building will include effective decision making, human resource management, mission or purpose, understanding of change, relationship buildi...
Markins, Charles. “School Fundings.” Pittsburg Post-Gazette 12 Feb. 2001: B 12 Craig, Robert. “Safe School Prevention.” Rolf Jenson & A ssociates 62.22
Technological and accidental hazards can be occur without warning and can be both hazardous material incidents and failures at nuclear power plant. In some cases, victims that have been exposed to harmful chemicals or radiation show little to no symptoms until several years later. There are an increasing number of new substances and chemicals being manufactured which has increased the likelihood of a hazardous material spill or release. This also increases the risk to the environment and to the health and safety of a community.
Thousands of people are affected by the lack of school safety in schools across the nation. Students everywhere are attending schools that are more dangerous than expected. This is a growing concern everywhere, and schools need to improve, or else they are prone to being unsafe. Whether it is building, drill, concussion, social, or technology safety, schools need to improve to lower the risk of an incident.