Griswold Elementary School’s demolition cost continues to rise due to asbestos

Contractors working on the demolition of Griswold Elementary School in Griswold, Connecticut have found asbestos in the glue holding up the chalkboards, caulk and other previously unchecked areas. This hazardous discovery will add an additional $149,671 in removal costs. The town already paid an additional $95,000 last summer to remove tainted soil from beneath the first portion of the school to be demolished.

The town claims that it has sufficient funds to cover this new unexpected expenditure, but warns that it is likely they will find more “unfavorable soils” under the remaining portion of the 1960′s elementary school once it has been completely torn down this spring.

Asbestos is a toxic mineral that is often found in pre-1980′s buildings. Known to cause fatal respiratory diseases, such as asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the protective lining of the lungs, heart, chest and abdomen, asbestos was finally banned from use in the United States in the late 1970s.

Asbestos must be removed prior to demolition or renovation to prevent exposure to the carcinogen. When asbestos cracks or crumbles, it releases fibers that are easily inhaled and that fester in the lungs for decades, eventually giving rise to some type of asbestos cancer. These cancers are a-symptomatic until they reach the later stages of the disease and are difficult to diagnose.

Students are currently studying in the remaining wing of the old elementary school, but are expected to move into the nearly completed portion of the new elementary school this spring. The construction of the new, 127,000-square-foot school should be completed by the beginning of the 2011-12 school year.