School Closes After Discovery of Asbestos

Chatsworth High School was ordered to be closed Monday after environmental workers discovered asbestos contamination in up to 70% of the classrooms on Friday.

The health risk to the campus’ 3,200 students was not clear, said Shel Erlich, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Unified School District. But “medical and environmental authorities tell us the exposure wouldn’t have been long enough to be harmful,” he said.

The school could reopen as early as Tuesday, Erlich said, but district officials will not make that decision until environmental inspectors certify that the school is safe.

“It sounds like a similar issue that we’ve had at several other schools,” Erlich said.

Many schools built before 1973 contain asbestos fibers in ceilings or floor tiles, but the substance is considered safe unless it is released by construction, earthquakes or other movement.

Once in the air, asbestos can lodge in the lungs and create an increased risk of cancer.

Inspectors found the problem as they reviewed maintenance and repair work being done at Chatsworth High under Proposition BB, a 1997 bond measure.

“If they find asbestos in an office or a separate gym, sometimes they can just close that down and clean it up,” Erlich said. “But if you’re concerned about 70% of the rooms, it’s pretty impossible. On the side of safety, we made a decision to close that campus on Monday.”

The decision was made after students had left Friday. The school plans to notify parents through an automated telephone system that calls each home with a recorded message.

School buses will run their regular routes Monday morning, said Dan Isaacs, assistant superintendent of school operations. About 900 students are bused to Chatsworth High, at 10027 Lurline Ave.

Students who did not get the message about the closing will be bused to an area next to the campus; school officials will try to reach parents to get permission to bus them home, he said.

All activities scheduled for the weekend at Chatsworth High have been canceled.

Last year, after the Hector Mine earthquake north of Joshua Tree rattled Los Angeles, the school district closed Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights and Palisades Charter High School in Pacific Palisades to clean up asbestos contamination.

With a flurry of school construction underway at campuses across the district, workers have inspected more than 150 projects for asbestos.