Asbestos discovery stops work at school

By Megan Woolhouse
Globe Staff / November 9, 2007

Newton officials announced yesterday that they have halted construction at Newton North High School after finding a pipe wrapped in asbestos insulation in the ground at the work site.

Officials sent the pipe to a lab for testing and learned Wednesday that the coating contained asbestos, which can pose a health risk if its particles are inhaled.

City spokesman Jeremy Solomon released a letter from Building Commissioner A. Nicholas Parnell yesterday indicating that the contractor overseeing the asbestos removal has submitted an amended remediation plan to the state Department of Environmental Protection, but that removal work cannot continue until it is approved.

Workers were already removing old asbestos floor tiles buried on the construction site for the new $154-million school when the latest discovery was made on Monday.

Solomon said the contractor had been taking precautions to control dust and monitor air quality at the site and inside the school.

Newton North High School has been in session during the construction project and is not expected to be affected.

Megan Woolhouse can be reached at

mwoolhouse@globe.com