Grant High to Hold Classes Despite Work

Grant High School will be open for classes Monday while workers finish cleaning and testing the gymnasium and other rooms found last week to be contaminated with asbestos, Los Angeles school district officials said Saturday.

Environmental inspectors found the asbestos Thursday night while examining district schools after an Oct. 16 earthquake in the Mojave Desert. Asbestos can lodge in the lungs and lead to a higher risk of cancer.

District officials closed the gymnasium, locker rooms, multipurpose room and faculty dining room, but allowed students to attend classesFriday.

“It’s not going to affect the classrooms,” said Socorro Serrano, a district spokeswoman. The contaminated areas “can remain closed for use. All of the other buildings on campus are safe,” she said.

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On Saturday afternoon, dozens of workers unloaded bright orange industrial-strength vacuums to clean the gymnasium. Inside, the workers donned protective clothing and vacuumed and wiped every surface for asbestos.

Another Los Angeles school--Roosevelt High in Boyle Heights--was also found to be contaminated and will remain closed Monday, Serrano said. Environmental investigators found asbestos in the school’s main administration building, which also houses 18 classrooms.

Many schools built before 1973 contain asbestos fibers in floor tiles or ceilings, but the substance is generally harmless unless released through construction or other movement.

Last month’s magnitude 7.1 Hector Mine quake north of Joshua Tree rattled Los Angeles, prompting concern over possible damage to school sites and asbestos exposure.

With a flurry of school construction--including air-conditioning installation--now underway at campuses across the district, Serrano said asbestos inspections will continue and contractors who fail to contain asbestos will be suspended.

District officials have identified 500 projects where construction may have disturbed asbestos in older buildings. About 150 projects have been inspected.

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The disruption at Grant High has been minimal. A football game at the 3,400-student campus was canceled Friday night because players could not retrieve their uniforms and equipment from the gym.

Serrano said the affected rooms will reopen after they are certified as safe by a panel of three doctors with environmental expertise. That could occur as early as Monday, she said.