BY ANDREA TORTORA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON -- More than 500 students went home early Wednesday after part of Latonia Elementary was sealed off for possible asbestos contamination.
Students were dismissed after Principal Connie Ryle told teachers and students at a 10 a.m. assembly that asbestos might have been dislodged from ceiling tiles while workers were wiring classrooms for Internet access. The school will remain closed today, but officials will meet with parents at 3:30 p.m. in the gymnasium to discuss the situation.
Covington firefighters, state environmental workers and the Division of Air Quality, Kenton County's disaster and emergency services director and private contractors were on the scene, some summoned by the schools, some called by parents.
Parents came in a steady stream to take their children home and many of them were upset and concerned.
"My little boy has been coughing ever since school started," Joan Perry said of her 5-year-old son, who attends kindergarten at Latonia. "It's been going on for awhile. I thought it was just a cold but now I wonder if it's because of this asbestos."
Superintendent James Kemp said no one in the building was in any danger. But as a precaution, the building was being cleaned Wednesday by asbestos-abatement contractors and air quality tests were being done.
"We found out about this (Tuesday) night and we sealed the area off where wiring was being installed," Mr. Kemp said. "The area was behind sealed barriers and a closed door."
Ms. Ryle decided to close school to cut down on the confusion and misinformation being circulated about the dust in the air. To wire the school for the Internet, contractors worked at night, slicing long rows into the ceiling to make room for a three-sided box containing the wires. After the holes were cut, the school was tested for asbestos and came up clean.
For the past two weeks, a different contractor was installing the wires in their boxes. In doing so, pieces of the ceiling fell and holes drilled into the concrete created dust.
This prompted custodian Betty Edmondson to call the superintendent's office.
"I had been cleaning this up for two weeks and I thought there might be a problem," said Ms. Edmondson, the mother of Latonia fourth-grader Nathan Edmondson. "In the office, it was all over the copy machine and they just cleaned it off and used the machine."
Mr. Kemp said asbestos tests on the concrete found it does not contain the substance. He did not know the content of the ceiling.
"We're doing a wipe-down and clean-up again tonight (Wednesday) and they will test the air quality tonight," Mr. Kemp said. "If fiber is found, the cleaning will be until any loose fiber might be eliminated."
