The Lake Cumberland Health Department in Kentuckiana, KY has confirmed that Taylor County Elementary school has a mold, mildew and asbestos problem, and parents are not happy.
“Currently, my son has the sniffles, the coughs, the sort throat,” stated Kim Lawson, whose son attends Taylor County Elementary. Parents are calling the conditions at the school “unacceptable” and claiming that their children are consistently sick when attending school, but that their symptoms "disappear" when they are out of the school building for an extended period of time.
Another parent who wished to remain anonymous wondered why “every classroom has an air purifier in it” and why” teachers are sick all the time.”
Superintendent Gary Seaborne reassured parents that an “outside engineering company” had inspected Taylor County Elementary and “gave us a clean bill of health.”
The Lake Cumberland Health Department stated that past inspections reveal that the elementary school has had consistent mold and other problems, but that the problems have always been addressed in a timely manner. Parents claim that the school simply paint over the mold and mildew before each new school year.
Mold, mildew and asbestos are highly toxic and can cause a variety of health complications, including respiratory problems. Asbestos is perhaps the most dangerous of the three, as it is the only known cause of pleural mesothelioma, a deadly cancer that affects the lungs and presently has no known cure. Mesothelioma has a latent period of between 20 and 50 years, causing concern for parents of young children, as they may be exposed to asbestos and not experience mesothelioma symptoms until they are adults.
The Mesothelioma & Asbestos Awareness Center urges officials at Taylor County Elementary to facilitate the cleanup and abatement of all toxic materials within the school building, including asbestos.
The Mesothelioma & Asbestos Awareness Center is the web’s foremost resource for information related to asbestos exposure, mesothelioma, mesothelioma treatment methods, and more. Please visit the Mesothelioma & Asbestos Awareness Center website for further information.
