A warning was recently sent out to the parents of students at a Connecticut school after officials discovered clay that was being used in the art room contained asbestos.

The warning, which was simply intended to inform parents and students to use the clay with caution, has caused a wave of concern throughout the community and neighboring schools that are using the same type of clay.

Officials Require Teachers to Stop Using Clay

Superintendent Marion Martinez sent a warning out last week informing parents, students, and most importantly teachers, that the Nytal 100 clay being used in the school was found to contain small amount of asbestos.

East Hartford officials requested that until a more thorough investigation was conducted, art teachers should no longer use this type of clay in their classrooms.

Since the warning, Martinez found that more teachers reportedly found the clay in their classroom.

Neighboring Schools Using Clay

Epidemiologist for the state Department of Public Health, Brian Toal, confirmed with state officials that there were no conflicting interpretations of whether Nytal 100 contained asbestos or not.

Toal also believes that schools in the neighboring states, like Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey, are still using Nytal 100 and could be at risk.

According to Karen O’Connell, president of the teachers union in East Hartford, all art teachers have been constructed to get chest X-rays.

(Source: Courant)

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