GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Grand Rapids Public Schools says an outside group will investigate who dropped the ball in communicating the potential presence of asbestos in the ceiling at North Park Montessori.
For about six weeks, construction crews have been doing work on replacing North Park Montessori School's heating system and adding air conditioning. On Friday, the team told Grand Rapids Public Schools that the plaster they drilled into may contain asbestos.
During a Saturday meeting, GRPS spokesperson John Helmholdt told more than 200 concerned parents that officials first thought the exposure happened in January. After further investigation, they realized it may have happened as early as November 2018. Helmholdt explained Monday that MicroAir had conducted an environmental assessment in November, identifying potential asbestos.
Helmholdt said the district has an asbestos abatement program in place and informed parents of the program through the district handbook and newsletter. He said that abatement protocol was used when contractors came across potential asbestos areas in the boiler room and caulked windows that needed to be replaced. However, a “communications breakdown” happened when workers drilled into the ceiling.
Helmholdt said an initial sampling overnighted to a lab in New Jersey came back negative for asbestos, but the district is “not standing by that.”