Testimony of Annette Werner
We are here today to discuss the district’s policies for its school buildings that contain asbestos plaster.
With aging school buildings throughout the district, we wondered if there are open schools with asbestos plaster and if so, whether there have been plaster failures similar to those that closed Schenley this past year.
Based on our research of records the district is required to maintain under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act of 1986 (“AHERA”), we found that the answer to this question is “Yes.”
One such building is the former McKelvy Gifted Center, now the home of the Miller African Centered Academy. AHERA reports describe 57,000 square feet of wall plaster in this building as asbestos containing material. Asbestos containing ceilings were removed at some point between 1991 and 1997. The building has a lengthy history of wall plaster failure. The reports mention water infiltration, weather and aging as reasons for the plaster deterioration. AHERA requires inspections every three years, and the 1994 report for McKelvy/Miller shows an extensive list of wall plaster that was found to be damaged at that time. This list includes for example 10% of the walls of the gym and the kindergarten coat closet and 25% of the walls in a generator room.
Still, with repairs and regular maintenance, the building has remained in use. This maintenance included the need to repair damaged and/or delaminating plaster during 6 different months in the year 2005. In August 2005 repair work led to a waste shipment of 290 square feet of asbestos plaster, followed in September 2005 by a shipment of 40 square feet of asbestos plaster.
There is no indication that these events led the district to request an expert opinion on whether the building was safe as it had done after instances of plaster failure at Schenley in 2007 (one of which involved only a two foot square piece of plaster according to a November 14, 2007 district press release). There is also no indication in the AHERA reports that the district tested the adhesiveness of the plaster at McKelvy/Miller, as it had done with Schenley.
Instead, in February 2006, as part of the Right Sizing Plan, the decision was made to move the Gifted Center out of the McKelvy building and to move the African Centered Academy into McKelvy. Per district staff the Miller Street building, where the African Centered Academy was located prior to Right Sizing, does not contain asbestos plaster. Even after additional plaster failure in May and June of 2006 the decision to move the African Centered Academy to the McKelvy building stood.
We are not reporting this information to cause anyone to panic. It appears that the asbestos containing buildings have for the most part been maintained and repaired according to government standards. District staff indicates that air quality is monitored monthly in the McKelvy/Miller building and in other buildings with significant asbestos containing plaster and there has not been a problem. However, statements that Superintendent Roosevelt made last June come to mind.
"You don’t close a school, when the air readings tell you there is asbestos in the air. You don’t wait for that point. That would be wholly irresponsible. You close a school when you are warned that the prospects are significant for such an event occurring. If you wait until it occurs, one, you have accepted liability on a legal sense and financial sense. That is the legal financial sense. On a moral sense, you have done something I think far more extraordinary" (Agenda Review, June 18, 2008, p. 92).
A warning of danger could come in the form of a consultant’s letter only if a consultant’s opinion was requested, as it had been in the case of Schenley. In the case of McKelvy/Miller the history of the building itself could provide a warning that plaster failure can be expected.
Our questions now are, how was it determined that the history of plaster failure in the McKelvy/Miller building did not amount to a warning of a potentially dangerous situation? And why was an outside consultant’s opinion obtained for Schenley but not for McKelvy/Miller? With Miller middle school students slated to attend University Prep next year anyway why not eliminate the asbestos plaster risk entirely by returning the K-5 program to the Miller Street facility, a building which reportedly has special historic significance to the African American community?
Testimony of Kathy Fine:
Another Pittsburgh public school building where asbestos plaster has failed is Vann Elementary School. The year 2007 AHERA report for this building states that the “plaster, walls and ceilings throughout building tested positive” for asbestos. It also noted 3000 feet of asbestos pipe insulation with slight damage and 750 square feet of asbestos breeching insulation (30 square feet damaged) and that asbestos was friable where the insulation was damaged.
AHERA reports for Vann show various asbestos plaster related repairs over the past few years, including repair of damaged ceiling plaster in five rooms and a corridor in August 2005 (waste shipment 50 square feet of plaster). Nevertheless, the February 2006 Right Sizing Plan announced an expansion of Vann from a K-5 school to a K-8 school. This plan did not change even after it became necessary to conduct an emergency cleanup of wall plaster in a stairwell behind the auditorium in August 2006.
Vann is also notable for its problems with asbestos plaster during the summer months. In addition to the August 2005 and August 2006 work just described, AHERA reports show that the following summer, in 2007, damaged asbestos plaster was removed from at least 10 rooms in the Vann building. The next winter, in February 2008, the Superintendent stated in connection with Schenley that
"…our number one concern has to be safety, and we have to err on that side.... We do not know what this summer is going to bring. It has been the humidity and summer weather that has caused the rapid delamination of the plaster in the ceilings. And we don't know, perhaps this summer will be better than last, perhaps it will be worse, we can't take that risk." (Legislative Session, February 2008, p. 54-55)."
Despite plaster failure at Vann during each of the prior three summers, however, the risk was taken of opening Vann for classes in the Fall of 2008, even after an emergency plaster repair at the school in April 2008 required removal of 80 square feet of plaster.
Over the past six months deterioration at Vann has continued and apparently accelerated. Additional plaster removal was required at the building in August, September, October and November of 2008, including two incidents where plaster was damaged by water infiltration. Given these events, we would like to know how the district determined that it was safe for students to return to Vann in the Fall of 2008 and how the district determined that it is safe to plan on having students return to Vann in the Fall of 2009. Has an outside consultant’s opinion been sought or adhesion testing been done and if not, why not?
Testimony of Sue Mietzner:
A third Pittsburgh public school building where plaster has failed is Woolslair Elementary School. AHERA reports list almost 70,000 square feet of asbestos wall and ceiling plaster.
In June 2008 Superintendent Roosevelt stated that when asbestos containing plaster falls, students could be “hurt by the weight and damage of the plaster, or the plaster produced contaminants that went in to the air” (Agenda Review, June 18, 2008, p. 92). However, just six months earlier, in December 2007, 20 square feet of delaminating plaster (which later tested negative for asbestos) was removed from the Woolslair gym, and in January 2008 a ceiling repair involving 10 square feet of asbestos plaster was performed.
As a percentage of total ceiling plaster, the plaster failure at Woolslair appears to be much greater than the plaster failure that took place at the much larger Schenley building. Again, though, there is no indication that an expert opinion was sought for Woolslair, adhesion testing done, or plans made to remove the plaster ceilings. At this building in particular there is no indication of the type of enhanced monitoring and maintenance program adopted for Schenley per the November 14, 2007 press release, since old surface damage was readily apparent even in the main entry vestibule during a visit to the building last November.
To help sort out these issues and build public confidence in decisions involving these buildings, we ask the district to explain clearly its policies regarding buildings that contain asbestos plaster. How does the district determine whether there is a significant risk of danger from falling plaster or asbestos being released into the air? Under what circumstances does the district seek a consultant’s opinion as to the safety of a building with asbestos plaster? Under what circumstances is the adhesion of the plaster tested? At which buildings has an enhanced monitoring and maintenance program been adopted, and as of what date? Are policies being applied consistently?
Our focus tonight is not on Schenley, but on the apparent inconsistencies regarding the maintenance and safety precautions utilized when dealing with asbestos in Pittsburgh public school facilities. However, in the course of our investigation it was often suggested to us that proper ventilation could help counteract damaging effects the building’s new windows may be having on its plaster. Since students are no longer in the building the ventilation system can under the proper conditions be turned on and tested. Information about the status of the ventilation system is a key starting point for any discussions about the building’s future.
With a functioning ventilation system, possible removal of ceiling plaster and steps to guard against water infiltration, experts might conclude that Schenley is as safe as other district schools with asbestos plaster. Short and long term maintenance costs relative to the other buildings would be a separate issue. But that is a discussion for another day. With respect to Schenley, at this time we are asking only that the district arrange for prompt testing of the ventilation system and include an independent consultant chosen by our group as an observer.
Finally, we ask the district to promptly seek guidance from government and other sources outside of Pittsburgh as to the best and most economical practices for making school buildings with asbestos plaster safe for continued use and to investigate possible funding for any necessary repairs. We would be pleased to assist with this task.
[Stephanie Tecza:]
I would like to take a few minutes to speak about information available to the public about asbestos in our schools, based on the EPA’s publication “How to Manage Asbestos in School Buildings” (http://www.epa.gov/Region2/ahera/e23.pdf).
The Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act of 1986 (AHERA) requires school districts and other educational agencies to inspect their facilities for building materials that contain asbestos, and to develop a plan to manage that asbestos.
AHERA does not require removal of asbestos containing building materials but rather a plan to manage the asbestos to protect people and the environment.
Each school’s Asbestos Management Plan details all asbestos containing building material found in the school as well as the condition of that material and requires periodic surveillance of the material every 6 months, as well as a complete reinspection every 3 years. Preventive measures and fiber release episodes must also be documented in the Management Plan.
Annual notification of the Management Plan must be made to staff, faculty and parents each year. The plan must be kept at the relevant school building with a copy kept at district headquarters, and must be available for viewing by the public during normal school business hours. PURE Reform’s experience in researching asbestos containing materials in the district’s school buildings has been that the Management Plan binder at each school is updated only after each 3 year inspection. While we understand the burden that these updates place on the district we would like to suggest that for buildings where air quality is being monitored, the Plans be updated more frequently- perhaps every 3 months.
Also, our notes indicate that at a Board workshop on June 23, 2008, Board member Mark Brentley said that he had asked the district’s solicitor to provide him with a copy of certain AHERA information. The solicitor replied that the relevant materials were voluminous but that once compiled, they would be provided to Mr. Brentley. Mr. Brentley indicates he was not told that AHERA materials for Schenley were at that time available for viewing at the Schenley building, and that he still has not received the requested documents.
At the workshop the solicitor also commented that the district was in compliance with air quality monitoring and that AHERA does not address the risk of plaster failure. However, given that the Management Plan includes a description of any damaged asbestos containing building materials, a history of past fiber release episodes, and a description of preventive measures that have been taken, the Management Plan would be very relevant in determining the risk of plaster failure in the future.
Attachments:
Selected details from asbestos management materials for McKelvy/Miller, Vann and Woolslair.
Additional Agenda Review testimony.
Press Release, “In Response to Pittsburgh Schenley Students District Adjusts Two Year Plan,” November 14, 2007. (http://www.pps.k12.pa.us/14311051715526407/lib/14311051715526407/District_Adjust_Year_2_HS_Reform_11.14.07.pdf)
Right Sizing Plan 2006-2007 School Year, p. 7, 14 and 22 http://www.pps.k12.pa.us/14311071716911330/lib/14311071716911330/rspfinal2-28-06.pdf.
Selected details from asbestos management materials for McKelvy/ Miller
2/4/05 Loose ACM plaster in rooms 113 and 202. Waste shipment 5 bags.
4/11/05 Description of work: Remove damaged plaster from various locations on all levels of the school. 8/9/05 Description: Remove wall & ceiling plaster Location of work: Rear main entrance vestibule Reason for response: Plaster was damaged and deteriorating
8/12/05 Waste shipment record of wall and ceiling plaster 290 sq f
9/8/05 Description of work: Air monitoring- scrape approx 40 sf of delaminating plaster. Location of work: Two areas of wall in cafeteria. Reason for response: Repair plaster and paint
9/15/05 Remove damaged plaster from rear main entrance vestibule. No amount of sq f given but bill is relatively large.
10/22/05 Description of work: Air monitoring/cleanup of plaster debris created by shop plumbers working to free up drain line hidden inside the wall Location of work: storage room of classroom 15 Reason for response: Emergency response
12/26/05- 1/4/06 Repair deteriorating plaster Location of work: cafeteria and restroom along with various classrooms Reason for response: Repair deteriorating plaster
12/27/05 “Patched and repaired various areas throughout the school” 5 sq ft.
2/28/06 Decision to move the African Centered Academy to the McKelvy Building Right Sizing Plan 2006
5/9/06 Description: Emergency cleanup of Fallen Asbestos Plaster Location of work: Room 203 Reason for response: Plaster was damaged and fell “... less than a half sq foot of abestos containing ceiling plaster that had fell into a window sill in Room 203.”
6/27/06 AGX arrived for program oversight, asbestos air monitoring and on site analysis related to removal of finish coat plaster in various locations.”
6/28/06 Removal of wall plaster in Room 4 storage area.
7/5/06 Work involving ACM to “Allow contractor to continue work on renovation project for right sizing.” Spot removal of wall plaster in rooms T-2C, 15A, 16A, 7, 7A, 11B, 11C, 12A, 105A, 213, 213A and 2nd fl corridor, all
9/27/06 Remove approx 8 linear feet of pipe insulation and 1 sq f of blistered paint.
Selected details from asbestos management materials for Vann
8/5/05 Repair damaged ceiling plaster Rooms 6, 209, 210, 211, teachers lounge & corridor 1/6/06 Asbestos Response Action Description: Cleanup and Repair Damaged Sections of Asbestos Insulations on the Boilers Location of work: Boiler Room Reason for Response: Insulation was Damaged and Friable
2/28/06 Decision to expand Vann from a K-5 to a K-8 school Right Sizing Plan 2006 6/20/06 Work related to right-sizing.
8/10/06 Removal of pipe insulation, wall & ceiling plaster Allow contractors to continue work on renovation project Right sizing Loc: Room 17, 19, 106, 106-A, 106-B, 114C, 114D, 115, 115A, 115B, 115C
8/14/06 Cleanup and repair damanged wall plaster “Plaster was Damaged and Exposed with Visual Debris.” “... emergency cleanup of wall plaster in the stairwell behind the auditorium.”
8/17/06 Remove ~ 60 sq ft wall plaster- allow contractor to continue work on renovation project 11/17/06 Asbestos Response Action Repair damaged paint and plaster Location of work: Rooms 211 & 202 Reason for response: Plaster had become wet and was beginning to peel.”
1/19/07 Scrape & encapsulate ceiling of the nurse’s office.
6/27/07- 6/29/07 “Set up various areas to clean up deteriorating plaster” Scraped loose ACM plaster in Rm. 213A. Scraped loose ACM plaster and pain in Rm. 209. Bridged area in Rm 211 and 212. Scraped loose ACM plaster in Rm. 210. Scraped loose ACM plaster in Rm. 215. Remove 2 ft x 3 ft area of ceiling in Rm. 202. Scraped loose ACM plaster, bridged and encapsulated in Rm. 110. Scraped loose ACM plaster and bridged in Rm. 201. Glove bagged 2 sq ft of ACM plaster in auditorium.
7/3/07 Removal and encapsulation of a small amount of damaged asbestos plaster ~ 12 sf from ceiling & wall in Room 213B.
7/23/07 Various classrooms Clean up deteriorating plaster.
4/18/08 Scraped loose plaster on wall & ceiling Vann Room 210 “Plaster was damaged in rear corner and closet in Room 210.” 80 s ft “Emergency plaster repair”
8/14/08 - 8/19/08 Removal of wall plaster- various areas. Handwritten note “Plaster was damaged by water infiltration.” 2nd floor hallway and Rm. 202.
9/5/08 Remove plaster ceiling Room 210 9 sf
9/16/08 Asbestos plaster- scrape & encapsulate in multiple areas: auditorium, back stairs, fan room, hallways, etc. and remove asbestos pipe insulation from water meter crawl space Removed loose ACM plaster from rooms 104 and 202, stairwell and auditorium. Removed loose ACE plaster from room 103.
10/18/08 Room 109 removed loose plaster and paint Room 215 removed loose plaster and paint Room 201 removed a 3 x 5 area of ceiling and all pipe insulation Stairway near 1st floor removed loose paint
11/14/08 Remove paint chips in a storage closet Room 209 cut out a 2x3 bubble and an 8" bubble.
11/21/08 Scraped and encapsulated ACM plaster in multiple areas of water damaged plaster on first and second floors. American Contracting Enterprises $14,611.99.
Selected details from asbestos management materials for Woolslair
10/12/06 Repair Plaster Ceiling and Bridge Fiberglass Pipe and Filling Insulation Room 117 “Plaster was Sagging and Ready to fall. Pipe insulation was Torn and Exposed.” “... Approximately 2 ½ feet of ceiling plaster finish coat was sagging from the ceiling.
10/5/07 Plaster removal in Room G-5
12/26/07 Scrape & encapsulate delaminating ceiling plaster in Gym 20 s ft waste receipt. [NOTE: This plaster was assumed positive at the time the work was done but later tested negative.]
1/25/08 Room G-7 Ceiling Repair 10 s ft 8/4/08 Room G-5 Encapsulation of plaster walls.
Agenda Review 6/18/08
P. 48 J. Fink: … is Schenley a safe facility to have children in for next year? And what kind of information did we get, that would lead us to the conclusion one or the other? P. Gill: What I would first like to do is quote people who are far more expert than I am about the safety of the building. [Quotes Astorino 10/19/07 letter and Kimball 11/16/07 letter “We recommend that the school district vacate the Schenley High School building after this school year until such time as it can be adequately renovated to remove hazardous materials.”]
P. 57 F. McCrea: I also heard about a report from the ‘90’s. I don’t know if you are familiar with it, that went through all of our buildings and rated them for asbestos. Is that report available? P. Gill: I am sure it is. But I don’t have it with me tonight. Every ten years we do a facilities review report, or a consultant does it for us. The last report was done in ’96 or ’97. Very extensive report, I believe. But we do have something, I could look it up and see what it says about Schenley.
P. 61 J. Colaizzi: So if we took the short fix, the enclosing of it, and then next month we had a pipe breaking, or over the winter we had some pipes breaking, we would literally have to spend probably millions more again to then bring people in to control whatever the situation is first with the plumbing, then for any type of asbestos that will be surrounding that pipe.
PURE Reform NOTE: Invoices we saw in AHERA reports in connection with broken pipe incidents seemed to show total costs per incident, including abatement related costs, of $20k or less.. Per district staff, typically each building might have a burst pipe about once every 5 – 10 years.
P.70
I. Weiss: When the district was advised last fall of the situation involving plaster and the asbestos in that building by L. Robert Kimball… I advised the superintendent in writing that with the board having that information, that a condition existed, which in the opinion of the consultant placed students at an unacceptable risk, that it was incumbent upon theP. 71 district to take steps to remove students from the building as soon as could be accomplished. And some of the monitoring and some of the patching and so forth addressed the question of getting through until the end of the year to avoid a midyear relocation.
P. 72 I. Weiss: But there are consequences to a decision to put children in an environment which contains materials and hazards that you have been told in writing exists.
P. 76 T. Sumpter: What makes Schenley different than other buildings in the city that were built at the same time or may contain asbestos?
P. 77 V. Patil: What makes Schenley different is the problem of asbestos throughout the building. Primarily in the plaster of the walls,
P. 78
ceiling, the floor tiles, pipe insulation. Schenley has ventilation system ducts going from the main boiler room to every classroom. And this is encased in the corridor walls. These ducts are completely covered with asbestos around them. The plaster has aged. It is delaminating. None of the consultants can predict, nor can we, as to when this plaster will give way. Once plaster delaminates, it has potential to become fibers. And that is what causes the danger. We do have a few other buildings which have asbestos. But that is limited either in pipe insulation or floor tiles and it is contained, or it is nonhazardous, because it is nonfriable. The other issue with Schenley is the ventilation system itself. We have not been able to operate the ventilation system at Schenley. Current codes and school codes requires you provide certain amount of fresh air for the building. If we operate the ventilation system as is,
P. 79 no one again can guarantee what that ventilation system will put out there in terms of silt and other contaminants in the building.
P. 80 T. Sumpter: So really, the heath concern comes in to play when the plaster is disturbed either naturally or physically- either somebody disturbs the plaster or it comes loose on its own. V. Patel: Correct. T. Sumpter: That is what kicks in concern for the asbestos. V. Patel: When it becomes fribrous. T. Sumpter: If it stays intact, you have to keep your fingers crossed. It could be safe. But it is not a safe situation to put because of the possibility of something going wrong in the future. V. Patel: That’s correct.
P. 88 R. Taylor: What you are saying, what you are saying is it was not unsafe for them to be there. It is potentially dangerous or potentially unsafe. But it was not a dangerous situation for our students to be in. P. 89 P. Gill: I think it is a dangerous situation. Our experts think it is a dangerous situation. R. Taylor: What has to happen to make it a dangerous situation?
P. 90 M. Roosevelt: …. So then your question gets to the physical nature, what could happen. Plaster could fall. Plaster could fall and be damaging in one of two ways. One, a large enough amount of plaster could fall that people are physically hindered by the fall in a classroom. We had I think 10,000 patches we made, which Mr. Brently was- the work that was done that Mr. Lardas misinterpreted as being abatement. It was basically plastering, patching the ceilings. And the summer presents the prospect of things becoming considerably worse, because of the heavy humidity that summer brings. So there was an enormously careful process that the people who work for you went through with these consultants in making a judgment.
P. 95 R. Taylor: I still think the Board should have directed you to present a plan of what was the cheapest cost to keep the building going for a decade in the safest fashion.
They are questioning your motivations. I think it all goes to just shredding the confidence that people have in this school district and the decisions that we are making
Testimony of Dr. Marilyn F. Barnett
NAACP, Chair of the Education CommitteeI recently read with great interest an article written by Dr. Frank Gamrat who is a senior Research Associate of the Allegheny Institute. In his recent article, published last week, he spoke very candidly regarding the falling enrollment in the PPS and the chronic high teacher absenteeism in the District.
If we, the public, are to believe the kind of information that Dr. Gamrat’s research spoke about, then it becomes our responsibility to raise the kind of questions to this board and to this administration that will speak directly to this issue. It is most important.
As a former administrator, supporter of public education and mostly, as an advocate for all students in the Pittsburgh Public Schools, I can concur with the findings of Dr. Gamrat’s research. However, what may not be apparent to this board is the review of literature regarding the correlation that exists between the time teachers devote to quality instruction and the level of academic outcomes for students. It is really quite basic, the more time students spend learning quality material, the more they will learn.
What Dr. Gamrat’s research fails to report are the critical disparities that exist in those schools with high populations of African American students as opposed to those schools and programs with majority white student populations. I respectfully would like this administration to stu
dy this issue. And, under the RIGHT TO KNOW ACT, the NAACP is requesting information regarding the following: 1. Number of students in each building
2. Number of professionals and non-professionals servicing these students
3. Information regarding the collective number of days missed by both professionals and non-professionals in each building due to lost time—regardless of the reason absent.
I hope you will believe this is important information for you to have. In fact, I hope this information has already surfaced on your radar screen, because it is important data to study. (over)
The District is beginning to set up conditions to support and recognize principals who push their schools to excellence. I congratulate you for this effort. However, we cannot afford to make excuses for the kind of practices that actually produce differential outcomes for students.
If we continue to put up defenses, like the excuses Dr. Gamrat wrote about in his research, then we will continue to see the kind of exodus of parents and students, both black and white, from the Pittsburgh Public Schools.
Thank you.
