Asbestos Report Sparks Questions From West Haven High School Parents

Parents are asking a lot of questions after reading a report showing pictures of disturbed asbestos inside West Haven High School.

Back in November, the Connecticut Department of Public Health requested Dunn Environmental Inspections (DEI) investigate the installation of cameras at the school.

DEI reported, "the project was not reviewed by an Asbestos Project Designer or an Asbestos Management Planner as required by Connecticut and EPA regulations. Additionally, asbestos materials were disturbed by untrained and unlicensed persons during this camera installation project without containment or engineering controls to prevent fiber release."

The report also contains pictures showing where work was done near asbestos and some show asbestos debris, including on top of a trophy display.

"They could have at least put a phone call out and said that this happened," said Kim Poirier, a mother of a high school student.

Kim and Tom Poirier's daughter attends West Haven High School and said they only found out about this through Facebook the day before.

In an email, the superintendent says the installation was done over the summer when no students were in the building and that a random inspection by the state health department had been done in November. The superintendent also wrote that he contacted the agency and they replied that, "at no time was anyone in that building put at risk, and the school is safe and clear."

"I was surprised that they would do work in a school with asbestos and then not handle it properly," said parent Bridgette Hoskie.

Hoskie's daughter is considering attending West Haven High School next school year, but with renovations expected to take place at the school, she's now wondering if that's the right decision.

"Are they then going to handle the asbestos properly next time? And that really, really concerns me," said Hoskie.

Parents also question the timing of the camera installation when renovations to the school are expected in the near future. The superintendent says they received assurances the cameras could be dismantled and reused.

Both the mayor and superintendent stress that the school is safe and there is no risk to students. The mayor says he believes the DEI report is flawed.

NBC Connecticut reached out to the health department tonight and have not yet heard back.

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