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Editorial
Commendable candor
Dr. David Gangel, Rappahannock County’s new Superintendent of Schools, wasted no time in informing the public, through this newspaper, of the discovery of an unknown substance which may be asbestos in the high school gym.
We commend the superintendent for his forthrightness, as well as his swift action in sealing off the possibly contaminated area. As the superintendent stressed, it is not yet known whether the small amount of dust released was asbestos. But, he’s taking no chances.
Dr. Gangel is right on both counts.
In other jurisdictions, both in Virginia and in other states, there have been problems with asbestos-contaminated school buildings. In some of those cases, the administrations involved denied or withheld information from concerned parents and community members. Later disclosures not only left the school administrators embarrassed, they raised the question of whether their children’s health may have been endangered by avoidable exposure to a proven hazardous substance.
We hope that the analysis being conducted in Richmond will prove that the substance is, in fact, not asbestos. But until that is known, Dr. Gangel took a prudent step in sealing off the area.
He also showed, by his timely release of the information, that he feels the public should be informed about such problems. That also is a prudent step.
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