SHS students Quarantined (fictional)

By: Kimberly Becker

Sparta High School students were quarantined for twenty four hours because of exposure to asbestosis in one of the classrooms. “You will be quarantined in this room for twenty four hours” said Dale Stafslien, “The students are in a safe room and the asbestosis is not contagious.”
The exposure was from the heat pipes that were damaged from a water leak and some of the tiles that were broken. “A desk broke tiles when someone dropped it” said Stafslien. The asbestosis is used in rooms all over the school. “It has been used since the late 60’s” said Stafslien.
The students are now at risk for lung cancer and other lung diseases. “There is not a big risk for the students, but we want to make sure nothing is wrong” said Stafslien, “If people have asthma or have been around smoke their medical bills will not be covered”
Many of the classrooms still have the asbestos in it. Some of it has been removed, but not all of it. “The asbestosis is cost effective. We are going to wait till the other tiles break for us to get new insulation in those rooms” said Stafslien. The room that was just recently exposed is getting cleaned and fixed right now. “It will take a couple of weeks. The room and hallway is closed and sealed in with plastic” Said Stafslien, “There will be trained people coming in to remove all the asbestosis and put new insulation in. Agencies from asbestosis labs, emergency response teams, and the has mat team from fort McCoy.
Asbestosis is found in other places than just schools. It is found in homes on the roof and in the basement. It is also found in cars in their braking system. “Many places are built with asbestos because it works well and is cheap” said Stafslien, “It was found out until the 80’s that asbestos was dangerous when inhaled.”
School will still resume as normal. Students and staff are not aloud in the closed of areas of the school. There is still a risk of losing students from the school. Parents might feel there child is still at risk. “They might be pulled. It is up to the parents” said Stafslien.
As for the students, they are in a frightening situation. Tesia Moore said “It is scary to be in this situation especially for the people that have asthma or the people that have been around smoke.”