New School Year Could Mean Exposure to Mold, Lead, Asbestos and Dust for Students and Faculty

Core, one of the most recognized providers of commercial indoor air quality (IAQ) services, provides testing services to ensure summer construction projects at schools don’t create health hazards for students and teachers.

August means back to school for millions of people as students and teachers alike get ready for the new school. It also means many construction and remodeling projects that are typically scheduled to be done during the summer break are also close to completion.

School districts have historically used the summer break to conduct all types of building projects that are quicker and easy to perform when the schools are primarily empty. These projects are vital for maintaining aging building and providing the infrastructure schools need to prepare children for their later years.

In many old schools construction and remodeling activity can disturb materials that contain asbestos, lead and/or mold. The use of lead in paint has been banned since 1978, but its past use still impacts schools decades later. Asbestos can be found in old schools in materials such as insulation, flooring, ceilings, roofing, siding, fire coating materials and other building products.

The handling of both lead and asbestos are regulated in the United States and it is important that only qualified contractors work on projects that may disturb and aerosolize these materials. Mold on the other hand is only regulated in a couple of states and few schools escape having indoor air quality problems from leaking roofs, windows, broken plumbing or other causes.

One of the leading providers of school IAQ inspections is Core. The company has some of the industry’s most experienced IAQ investigators who have access to the latest testing instrumentation and decades of experience. “Construction and remodeling projects in any type of building will create dust and debris,” reported Don Makin, Indoor Air Quality Director of Operations for Core. “In schools where our children spend so much of their time it is imperative that construction dust doesn’t contaminate the schools with asbestos, lead or mold laden dust.”

To learn more about IAQ issues in schools please visit Core at www.IAQNow.com or www.CoreMech.com, email dmakin@CoreMech.com or call (866) 969-0636.

About Core
Core specializes in indoor air quality for all types of buildings. Services range from air quality inspections, testing, air filtration, installation, maintenance, documenting, cleaning and restoration of building air quality and HVAC systems. The company has over 85 years of combined service and has an extensive profile of accreditations and certifications from leading organizations as well as state and federal regulating bodies.

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Paul Cochrane

President

Cochrane & Associates, LLC

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