Asbestos Causes Three Huntington Beach Schools to Remain Closed

Three Huntington Beach schools will remain shuttered until at least Friday over concerns about trace amounts of asbestos found at one of the campuses, a discovery prompting angry parents to demand information about the safety of their children.

Over the weekend, an asbestos fiber was found on the campus of Hope View Elementary School, likely the result of upgrades that were done at the campus over the summer, officials said.

“There was one fiber found on a wet-wipe sample on the top of a bookcase, possibly the result of a penetration in the ceiling,” Bruce Aule, a liaison for the Ocean View School District, told reporters Wednesday outside district headquarters, where parents gathered in hopes of learning more about the problem.

“The three schools that are of the greatest concern right now are Hope View, Oak View and Lake View, because they have a blown-on fire retardant that was done back in the 60s, and that can deteriorate,” he said.

Some parents expressed outrage that they had not been notified about the original positive asbestos tests over the summer. They also questioned why classes were continuing at eight other district campuses where asbestos testing had not yet been done.

“Number one, the district apologizes,” Aule told the parents. “Number two, there is a huge action plan in place to get this all cleaned up.”

The district has also been investigating whether construction crews that worked on the schools over the summer were still removing asbestos from the buildings after students returned to the campuses in September.

The three closed schools will be thoroughly cleaned before they are reopened, district officials said.

Teachers from the three closed campuses were directed to report to Ocean View School District headquarters Wednesday to receive instructions on whether they would be working for the balance of the week.

— City News Service