
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, September 7, 1995                   TAG: 9509070083
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BETTY HAYDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

ASBESTOS SCARE MOVES PUPILS

The second day of school usually means settling into a routine, but an asbestos scare - which turned out to be a false alarm - on Wednesday cleared 120 elementary school pupils from their classrooms in Salem.

Workers installing air conditioners in windows above classroom doors in 56-year-old G.W. Carver Elementary School dislodged a few ceiling tiles, and officials learned Wednesday morning that glue on the tiles contained asbestos, said Salem school Superintendent Wayne Tripp.

But a Richmond laboratory notified Tripp on Wednesday night that air quality test results showed no asbestos in the air, and the main building was scheduled to reopen today.

As a precaution, the four kindergarten and three first-grade classes were moved into trailer units there for the renovation.

Though the evacuation disrupted classes, teachers and pupils maintained a good attitude, he said. Bag lunches were brought in from Andrew Lewis Middle School and some youngsters ate outside.

"They all looked at it, frankly, as a great adventure," Tripp said.

by CNB