South High Asbestos Removal
The Torrance Unified School District Board of Education voted unanimously to pay up to $100,000 to remove asbestos from the boys’ locker room at South High School.
At last week’s school board meeting, Harvey Oelkers, the district’s business manager, asked the board to give administrators the authority to request bids to remove the asbestos from ceiling support beams.
Although the asbestos does not threaten the health of students, Oelkers said, it “should be removed as soon as possible.”
Oelkers said air samples taken in the locker room earlier this year showed no asbestos in the air. He said the district plans to remove the asbestos before school begins in September.
The asbestos in the locker room was discovered earlier this year during an inspection of all of the district’s school buildings, he said.
The inspection , which was required by federal law, also revealed various amounts of asbestos in other school buildings, such as West High School’s library.
Oelkers said the board will spend up to $200,000 in the district during the next several years to remove asbestos.
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