To the Editor:

The following message has been sent to the Board of Education and I am awaiting a full reply regarding action. Students and teachers will be safe during asbestos removal only if school is not in session.

To the Board of Education:

I have a deep concern about the Hawley School boiler replacement project taking place while school is in session. I have a child in first grade there, and while I know safety protocols will be followed, there cannot be a 100 percent guarantee that asbestos will not leak into the air no matter how well the boiler room is sealed off. Even though daily checks on air quality will be followed, and an immediate shutdown would occur in case of a leak, there is a risk to our young children and to teachers. If one child, or one teacher, is affected, that is one too many.

The problem is that asbestos contamination in the body takes place over years so we will not know who has been affected. We do not need another tragedy in this town. I strongly urge you to postpone the boiler replacement project and asbestos removal until the summer months when school is not in session. I understand there is concern about the timing of the project so that it will be completed in a timely manner, but our first concern must be the safety of the children and teachers who work at Hawley.

I am very doubtful that there can be a 100 percent guarantee nothing of the asbestos removal will escape into the air. Thank you for considering the suggestion to wait until summer when school is not in session to begin this project. Safety is the concern, not timing. Timing can be handled but we all know there is no turning back if the presumption of safety is flawed.

Jean Klein

3 Budd Drive, Newtown                   April 14, 2013