Enter at your own risk!

In the coach’s office next to the Lady Chargers basketball locker room, non-friable asbestos was found causing the administration to act quickly to protect the students and staff at Bullitt East.

The dangerous situation was identified on February 3 during minor updating in the coaching office in the gymnasium. The coaching office is not connected to the school’s ventilation system so there is no airflow between students and staff areas and the affected area. The school responded quickly and had contractors conduct air quality tests. Asbestos is a strong and fireproof silicate-mineral fiber that becomes brittle with age, and pollutes air and water as extremely fine particles that can cause serious illnesses and cancer. Asbestos is found in certain acoustic ceiling tiles, insulation, patching compounds, roofing shingles, texture paints, vinyl flooring, and some appliances such as irons.

Chris Mason, principal, sent out an email to Charger Nation informing parents and students about what was discovered. In the email it said, “Immediately upon that identification, monitoring and abatement procedures were put in place to allow the remaining areas of the school to be utilized without risk to students or staff. The areas are physically sealed with approved techniques.” The girls locker room was closed off for the safety of the players since it is adjacent to the affected area.

Not many people knew about the situation. Senior Lady Chargers basketball player Lindsay Duvall said, “We didn’t know anything about it till the word went around school and we couldn’t use the locker room.”

The girls basketball team was not impacted by the asbestos situation. “I didn’t really care because Friday was a away game and we aren’t in there really during the weekend. We just used the CCC today,” said Duvall. The girls basketball team will be using the ccc gym until their locker room is safe for them to be in there.

Mason and the administration acted quickly. “Air quality testing was performed at the outset by licensed, outside contractors. No airborne asbestos has been detected and abatement of the asbestos is being performed by certified contractors. All of this is to say that there is no identified risk to students or staff and all appropriate efforts to make sure that is the case have been instituted and will continue in place,” said Mason in an email. There is no safety concerns at this time and parents and students will be alerted if anything appears to threaten the health and safety of everyone at Bullitt East.