Union should listen to those justly concerned about asbestos

Re: Asbestos removal at Cameron Heights safe, officials say — Sept. 22

The assertions by the local school board and teachers’ union that the asbestos found at Cameron Heights is within safe levels is problematic for both staff working at local schools and for children who attend those schools. Asbestos is classified as a Group A1 carcinogen, meaning it is a confirmed human carcinogen. There is significant health risk, even in the smallest amounts.

According to the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety “all levels of asbestos exposure studied to date have demonstrated asbestos-related disease” and “there is no level of [asbestos] exposure below which clinical effects do not occur.” Therefore, all avoidable exposures to asbestos should be prevented whenever possible.

Instead of OSSTF’s president saying that those staff who question the asbestos procedures “misunderstand ... exactly what the dangers are surrounding asbestos” or that those staff “tend to fear and overreact to things that (they) don’t understand,” perhaps the union should advocate for the interests and safety of its members more diligently. Perhaps the leadership in the union should listen to the educators and parents who are justly concerned about the hazards of exposure to asbestos in their school. By doing this, the union could do what unions have historically done, question and advocate for change that benefits not only their workers but society as a whole. No one, students or staff, should be exposed to asbestos. Asbestos is not safe in any quantity ... period. That is fact. It is not “overreaction.”

Mark Koppeser Bloomingdale