Asbestos Concerns at Masterman

“imminent danger” to students and staff. These conclusions came about in accordance with the protocol instituted by Dr. Hite before Christmas that called for the mandatory inspection of each building in the school district. “[An inspector] specifically inspected the piping to see if there was any damage to pipes and also they’re doing lead paint,” commented Ms. Brown in concern to the investigation. Moreover, the facilities manager of each school, including Masterman, was tasked with an additional walk through of the school to ensure thoroughness.

The results of the investigation into the presence and danger of asbestos at Masterman found that the school does have pipes containing asbestos, but again, no pipes in classrooms have been disturbed to cause “imminent danger.” However, a number of classrooms were identified in which pipes containing asbestos required repair, so that in the event that they are knocked or disturbed in some manner, classroom air does not become contaminated with asbestos. “The work gets done at night or over the weekend in terms of what they call extra wrapping [of the pipes],” Ms. Brown described. All necessary repairs were noted during the inspection and entered into a report and the procedure of wrapping has begun, though “there are many classrooms,” admitted Ms. Brown, so the process may take time.

In other events surrounding the asbestos problem, the robotics room was closed for a week so a leak, chipped paint, and a fiberglass pipe could undergo repair. In another instance, a pipe in the Home and School closet on the first floor was disturbed, but promptly repaired, and a notice was sent out to parents and the community about the concern which posed no danger to students. Several methods of notice have been sent out to parents and guardians, including a letter sent home in early December followed by a robocall. Since then the school has continued in its best efforts to keep family members informed about the asbestos issue which will be monitored in the future by regular six month inspections.

Outside the bubble of Masterman concerns, on January 20th (Martin Luther King Day), the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) filed a lawsuit against the School District of Philadelphia, accusing it of failing to comply with standards established by the district to properly address life threatening issues of asbestos and lead within rapidly aging school buildings. The lawsuit followed the closing of six schools in the district since October over discoveries of damaged asbestos that had either been missed by initial inspections or had failed to be repaired by the district. In particular, McClure Elementary located in North Philadelphia was closed on December 20th for asbestos and after being reopened was later closed a second time after air tests demanded by teachers and union leaders found amounts of airborne asbestos still present. In the lawsuit union leaders asked that the court order the school district to comply with the following demands: the performance of periodic inspections on school district buildings, the composition of a written plan in tandem with the teachers union to protect staff and students from asbestos, and that the teachers union have a hand in all inspections access to asbestos testing materials. In addition, the President of the PFT emphasized the day on which the suit was filed saying, “the conditions in our schools would never, ever be tolerated in a wealthier, whiter school district.”