Former Phoenixville Area Elementary School to be demolished following mesothelioma asbestos abatement

The old Schuylkill Elementary School, located in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, will soon fall. School officials unanimously voted to demolish the former elementary school Tuesday, reports Daily Local News.

The Phoenixville Area School District will pay the Schuylkill Historical Commission $2,000 in recognition of and to preserve the memory of the Schuylkill Elementary School. The assessment will be used for development of a historic area in the current elementary school building. The area will include photographs, artifacts and other memorabilia.

The school, built in 1930, was shut down and replaced by the current elementary school in 2006. The 80-year-old building has remained vacant, and boarded up, since that time.

The former elementary school is contaminated with asbestos and mold, and has become a hazardous environment. In order to demolish the building, asbestos abatement work must first occur.

Asbestos is a highly toxic material, which can easily be aerosolized. When the toxic particles are breathed in for an extended period of time, diseases such as asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma have been known to form. Mesothelioma is the rarest asbestos cancer, known to affect 3,000 Americans each year.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for the aggressive asbestos cancer. Instead, mesothelioma patients undergo palliative mesothelioma treatment, such as chemotherapy and radiation, in order to help battle their disease.

Old stones from the building may be sold once it falls. "There will be a joint fundraiser between us and the Schuylkill Board of Supervisors…People have asked already about purchasing some of the old stones after the demolition,” said Superintendent Alan Fegley.