SCHOOL WORK

School Under Investigation for Using Students to Remove Asbestos

'The kids were loaded with it,' says witness

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Jan 9, 2013 by Dain Fitzgerald

Staff Writer t

Image: wvrecord.com

Lesson: Never send a boy to do a certified professional's job.

A private religious school in Berea, Ohio is under criminal investigation after it was discovered to be putting its students to work last year clearing asbestos from a building being prepped for future classes, reports NBC affiliate WKYC-TV. The story pits the Christian Buckeye Education School against the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, which charges the school with violating state regulations requiring a building owner to use certified contractors to remove the cancer-causing insulation material.

"The entire site was contaminated with asbestos and the people who were doing it were all children," said Darren Clink, a local who videotaped the asbestos removal process undertaken by teenagers wearing no protective clothing. "The kids were loaded with it."

The Ohio EPA, which began investigating the school last month, is unsure of the extent of the damage the asbestos may have inflicted on the kids tasked with handling it.

"There's no way we can recreate the conditions at the time the students were in there," said Cleveland Commissioner of Air Quality George Baker, who works with the agency.

The school, for its part, has been compliant.

"We are fully cooperating with the EPA for an amicable resolution to the situation," said a representative of the organization that oversees Buckeye Education.

Via WKYC-TV.

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Jan '13

Sharpshooter

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It's Bush's Fault.... see liberals, I'm learning.
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Jan '13

PoliticalSpice

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Finally, you are getting it! LOL.
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Jan '13

frigginhell

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Making a joke about a very serious crime. What did you learn. This is not Bush's fault. This is not Obama's fault. This is the fault of whatever administrator of that particular school had these kids do that work. He should be criminally prosecuted as well as the others that had this work implemented. I'll not even blame the church which would be convenient because it's a christian school. This was done because of greed. Abatement is an expensive process. One which any school supervisor of an older building in the state of Ohio is cleary aware of. This man or woman or group of both conspired to subvert the law of the land and put underage kids in harm's way in doing so. This school will be a memory as it's sued into bankruptcy. That shouldn't be the end of it. Their was gross negligence for the welfare of these children that have the very real possibility of causing long term health problems that will persist throughout the entirety of their lives.
The whole, it's Bush's fault reaction to something you don't have a good response to ceased being funny about the same time it was first used.
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Jan '13

ConserveUSA

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@frigginhell It is no body's fault.
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Jan '13

Sharpshooter

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@frigginhell If you're a really good little BOY for the next year... maybe Santa will bring you a sense of humor for Christmas.

NEWSFLASH!!!!! YOU are not the arbiter of funny nor do YOU have the right to pass judgement on others.

The harsh reality is that the story is about actions not meriting discussion, only an asshole would not find this a serious situation so what's to debate?

The question asked is silly and actually unrelated and most important and probably most shocking to you... noting we're going to say here makes a fly speck of difference to anyone other than US and your diatribe is nothing more than a rant represented by the organization of a bunch of electrons following directions to make a pattern on a display in front of anyone who happens upon it.

Sorry your background and expertise in asbestos abatement is wasted in this thread but it was your choice to respond to my comment. I'll bet someone as bright as you can figure out how to post in response to the question rather than to my posts.

By the way.... your diatribe.... it was Bush's Fault too....
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Jan '13

LikkerdySplit

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@frigginhell oh shut up
didnt hurt nobody, long as they done it in a safe way and they had a teacher or somesuch supervisin i got absolutely zero problem with it
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Jan '13

Dan_Tien

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It is not the regulations that are faulty, it is the school administrator's willful disregard of them. This is totally unconscionable. The only equitable response is to force the people responsible to absorb mass quantities of asbestos themselves, but that would be cruel and unusual punishment.
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Jan '13

PoliticalSpice

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Cruel maybe, but judging by these children, not unusual...seriouly, they need criminal prosecution, not just regulatory sanctions.
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Jan '13

RobertJHarsh

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<facepalm> Future asbestos lawsuits against the school and the state. Nice. Typical Ohio way of thinking though. So glad I am a transplant from Texas.
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Jan '13

martydotcom

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As Neo would sat. Sad....Sad,....
bring the guilty back to Tx and give then the needle
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Jan '13

jamie91

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I worry more about the kids and what that will do to their long term health. Silly me, I guess my focus should be in financial liability.
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Jan '13

PoliticalSpice

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The folks at the school who authorized and permitted the children to do this should not be subject to EPA, but criminal prosecution for reckless endangerment. Some of thrse kids will probably die of cancer one day due to this selfish sceme to evade regulation and save money by s greedy institution. This is really horrible.
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Jan '13

DARSB

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The regs are fine, but there's something seriously wrong with that school administration. Maybe they thought they could pray the asbestosis away.
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Jan '13

PoliticalSpice

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Maybe they can do so in prison, where they belong. Child endangerment, for one.
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Jan '13

cpeter133

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I can't even conceive how many lawsuits this will cause, or their magnitude. Next stop: bankruptcy.
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Jan '13

Mogal

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What did their parents think was going on? I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around wanton disregard of this magnitude.
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Jan '13

Warrior_Judge

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It's not like there aren't commercials about mesothelioma caused by asbestos.
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Jan '13

Mogal

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@Warrior_Judge Right???? Its just hard to fathom gross negligence this big.
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Jan '13

Warrior_Judge

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@Mogal
in my best Church Lady voice, "could it be..........Satannnnnn?"
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Jan '13

twinertia

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Well, it's a private religious school, and since their "holy" basis has no problem with slavery, they were no doubt following a "higher calling". Hey, times are tough and professionals don't come cheap. After the school's insurance policies absorb all those pesky lawsuits, they're STILL ending up ahead on costs! Praise Jebus!!
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Jan '13

RobertJHarsh

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So what you're saying is their magic sky fairy will protect them form asbestos related cancers later in life? Then if that is the case, then put those little lambs of their god back to work!
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Jan '13

twinertia

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@RobertJHarsh Who knows? I hear it works in mysterious ways!
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Jan '13

RobertJHarsh

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@twinertia Yeah...asbestos can cause all kinds of health issues! It is almost magical.
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Jan '13

Buzzfriendly

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A little faith healing and all is well.
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Jan '13

SavageMazx

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Hey, they are just teaching the kids a "life skill"
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Jan '13

tomincali

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used to be a rule where workers messing with that stuff had to be over 40,something about they would be dead before it effected them.
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Jan '13

RobertJHarsh

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Wait! Isn't using unpaid child labor taking money from the economy that could provide people with work? Depriving the state of needed tax revenue? Those school admins were clearly Unamerican terrorists. Ship them to Gitmo for reeducation.
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Jan '13

Keyjo

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It must have their business class. They're learning about American capitalism.
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Jan '13

harold_lloyd

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This is what happens when you have a school that teaches biblical science, asbestos was never mentioned.
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Jan '13

Souljah

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Wow I heard of finding creative ways to save money, but Private school's charge tuition, and for that price you a get asbestos poisoning..Asbestos is such a harmful material it's been known to be a carcinogen and the EPA has been trying to ban it from the early 80's in the US, and its been banned in europe since the 70's .. Anybody besides the kids, that didnt know that is an idiot.
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Jan '13

PNWest

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Screw the politics on this matter. I just hope that the kids will be OK. Exposure to asbestos may not result in disease for decades. These poor kids will go through their entire lives not knowing if something they did as a child is going to kill them. My sympathies to the families.
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Jan '13

Denizen_Kate

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There are more than a few crass comments here about litigation and money and other soft penalties. Obviously, few of you have ever watched a loved one die from this stuff. I have. The school administrators who had children performing this task should be sent to prison for a really long time.
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Jan '13

bsking

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Sounds me like somebody's a little pissed off that they didn't get a big state contract to over pay a bunch of slugs to remove a bunch of insulation that was manufactured in 1960.

Just another scam... funny how 1 official said there's no way we can recreate the dangerous situations children were in.... any you geniuses know why that is? There's nothing to the story.. except to get some you anti Christian bigots all riled up
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Jan '13

MadAmerican

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I can already see the influx of Metholphylioma commercials from bottom feeding lawyers.
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Jan '13

awbaldridge

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Child labor in dangerous conditions?? Sounds like a Republican paradise!
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Jan '13

CommonSense

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Too many regulations lack the teeth they need.
This could seriously cause cancer in these kids in the future. This sort of thing deserves jail time not just fines and dismissals, not just shutting down the school.
There are other areas in the law that need teeth.
Environmental regulations. If a company is pumping excess quantities of chemicals into our air and drinking water then it's endangering our health and those responsible for the decision, for making it, and for carrying it out anyways knowing the company's orders exceed the limits should go to jail.
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Jan '13

kathyparsell

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Forget the EPA where is DCS??? Where ARE the PARENTS, Where is the Sheriff? Oh I forgot this was a christian school, God will protect them!
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Are regulations surrounding asbestos strict enough?

Are regulations surrounding asbestos strict enough?