A horrifying scene recently played out at a Niagara Falls, New York school where children playing with what they believed to be chalk on a sidewalk instead exposed the children to toxic asbestos. Upset parents have understandably questioned why the situation occurred outside a junior high school that had been closed.

The dangers of asbestos exposure are so serious that strict rules, regulations and laws are in place over the use and handling of the material. One of the deadliest cancers, malignant mesothelioma, is caused by exposure to asbestos and has claimed hundreds of thousands of victims.

News reports about the incident revealed that the sidewalk was covered with a white chalky material the children assumed was asbestos but was actually the residue of debris from discarded asbestos insulation. Asbestos was once commonly used in insulating everything from skyscrapers to aircraft carriers because it was prized for its fire-resistant qualities but has been replaced by other materials because of the health hazard.

Follow the whole story at: Asbestos News

“School officials hired a contractor, complete with plastic Tyvek suits, to clean up the asbestos over the weekend,” according to WIVB4 News in New York. “Officials suspect vandals stole some old hot water pipes from an underground tunnel and tore the asbestos off, which was used for insulation, leaving it spread all over the ground. The cleanup was declared complete on Saturday. Falls Superintendent Cynthia Bianco said, ‘We’re taking all the appropriate necessary steps to make sure it is cleaned up and becomes safe again.’”