Southern Hills Middle School, CO Evacuated Due to Asbestos

In Boulder, Colorado, nearly 500 students and staff members were evacuated from a local school due to a possible asbestos release.

Students, staff, and other workers at Southern Hills Middle School were evacuated just before noon today after a construction “incident” may have exposed asbestos to the school air supply. The announcement was made by Boulder Valley School District spokesman Briggs Gamblin. Construction workers notified school and district officials at 8:30 a.m. After the incident occurred. Exact details of the incident have not yet been released.

The school district has sent samples of the material from the work site to a lab in Denver for contamination tests. The test results subsequently showed that the sample did in fact contain asbestos. School officials note that it is not yet known whether asbestos was released in an area where students may have been exposed to the deadly substance.

Further testing will be conducted on the building to ensure it remains safe for teachers and students. School may be canceled tomorrow, pending the review from the school district. “The samples will be driven to a private lab we use in Denver, we’ll pay to have the results expedited, and we hope to know by late this afternoon or evening about air quality in the school.” said Mr. Gamblin.

The schoolchildren were held in the auditorium until the end of the day in order to protect them from the possible asbestos release. Asbestos can be deadly when inhaled and is the primary cause of the rare cancer mesothelioma.

Updates to come as available.