Philadelphia’s school asbestos problem is already derailing back-to-school

Kensington High School in Philadelphia will relocate its four hundred students and ninety staff members seven miles away for the remainder of the school year. According to Chalkbeat, the move follows an uncertified contractor's damage to asbestos-containing materials during the school's summer HVAC renovation, potentially spreading the toxic substance throughout the building. Asbestos, which can cause serious lung disease when inhaled, now requires professional removal and building decontamination. This is the latest asbestos crisis in Philadelphia's school district, which the Department of Justice criminally charged last year for failing to monitor asbestos in its buildings between twenty-fifteen and twenty-twenty-three.

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