Just outside of Chicago in the suburb of New Lenox, Illinois, a local school board has just approved a plan for renovations and asbestos removal at the Lincoln-Way Central School. The Lincoln-Way High School District 210's Board of Education has approved plans to replace the school's gym floor, repair damaged areas of roofing, installation of an additional wheelchair platform lift and the removal of asbestos.
All told, the total cost of the project will be $563,742, and will be funded through the life safety bonds which the school district sold in 2009, according to District 210's Director of Buildings and Grounds Ronald Sawin.
"Specifications were created that mirror the floors installed at North and West," said Sawin in a memo to the board. He then added that the gymnasium floor at Central also contains asbestos and would need to be addressed. "The mastic adhesive underneath the existing flooring contains asbestos. Consequently, the removal process requires an asbestos abatement program by a certified contractor," he said.
Asbestos exposure is the leading cause of the onset of mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer that often affects the lungs or other tissues in the chest or abdominal cavity. Mesothelioma affects less than 3,000 Americans each year, and while there are palliative treatment methods available, including chemo, there is no known cure. The majority of patients lose their battle with this cancer in less than two years following diagnosis.
