MRHS asbestos removal to begin in summer

MRHS asbestos removal to begin in summer
Officials say asbestos presents no danger
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer

TINTON FALLS — Monmouth Regional High School will begin the process of removing asbestos from a portion of the building this summer.

According to Monmouth Regional Business Administrator Maria Anne Parry and Schools Superintendent James Cleary, the asbestos is harmless and does not necessarily need to be removed.

"It is wrapped around piping and is not a threat to anyone," Parry said last week. "It is completely contained," she added. "No one has gotten sick from it."

The asbestos removal project was introduced during the public hearing on the Monmouth Regional School District on March 31 at which Parry presented a slide show on the project.

Also shown was a projected plan to gut the north and south locker rooms and redesign the two rooms.

According to Parry, it is not unusual for a building that opened in 1961 to have been built with asbestos, she said in an interview.

"Most buildings built during this time period were built with asbestos," Parry said. "It is normal for a building built in the '60s to have asbestos in it."

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry website, asbestos fibers are only dangerous if they are disturbed, causing fibers to float in the air and allowing them to be inhaled.

Asbestos has long been recognized as a health threat to humans, because the fibers can be inhaled and are difficult to remove from the lungs, the website states.

According to Parry, the asbestos removal has not been mandated but is being remediated because work is being done to some ceilings in the building.

"We looked up at the ceiling and decided it needed to be replaced," Parry said. "With replacing the ceiling, it is better to remove the asbestos now."

The asbestos being removed is in the 300 wing of the building, which includes administrative offices and classrooms, Parry explained.

Asbestos in the technology room will also be removed this summer.

The project will cost the school $94,500 for the 300 wing and $25,000 for technology wing. That will include contractors' fees, which, according to Cleary and Parry, account for roughly 20 percent of the total cost. The project will begin this summer once the school year ends, which Parry said is more cost-effective because the ventilation system could be used to completely rid the airborne asbestos particles.

"The asbestos will be contained completely," Parry said. "It is completely safe."

Parry also revealed that there is asbestos in other parts of the building, but it is contained and poses no danger, she said. There is a three- to five-year plan to completely rid the school of asbestos and replace the ceilings.

"There is asbestos in other parts of the building," Parry said. "It is contained and not a danger to anyone in the building."

Monmouth Regional currently educates 1,140 students in grades nine through 12 who reside in Tinton Falls, Eatontown and Shrewsbury Township.

Contact Kenny Walter at

kwalter@gmnews.com.