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South Carolina parents have hundreds of worries when they send their children to school, like are they receiving a good education? Are they making friends? Do they have enough to eat? Rarely do parents have to worry about asbestos exposure in their child’s school, but that is exactly what some out-of-state parents are dealing with right now.

In March 2017, workers removed asbestos contaminated ceiling tiles at a charter school for nearly a week. For the first six days of the project, this work went on during school hours while children were present. After that the tiles were only removed after students were dismissed. However, parents were never notified of the removal or given the option to keep their children home for the duration of the work.

Although officials insist that no children were ever exposed to asbestos, students will head to different schools this fall for a very upsetting reason — asbestos contamination. Contamination was discovered at some point during the summer of 2018, and many parents are understandably worried that their children were exposed to the deadly substance. The district spoke with hundreds of parents during a recent meeting and said they plan to have a doctor discuss individual health concerns.

Unlike other toxic substances, asbestos exposure takes time before manifesting in physical symptoms. Many victims live for years or even decades before they develop related diseases, like mesothelioma or lung cancer. This can make it difficult for South Carolina victims to adequately prove that another person’s or company’s negligence caused their health problems. When individuals are aware of exposure early on, keeping vigilant records can help should they need to seek compensation for injuries in the future.