Where’s damaged asbestos in Philly’s public schools? Look it up in our new School Checkup tool.

Community concern about asbestos in classrooms has soared after the Philadelphia School District temporarily closed 10 schools since the fall over contamination from the carcinogenic building material. As a public service, we are sharing the more than 900 places in our School Checkup tool where the district recently found damaged asbestos during its 2018-19 federally-mandated inspections.

With this updated database, you can search by a school’s name and learn the precise locations of newly identified damaged asbestos, as well as previous reports of flaking lead paint, mold, and other asthma triggers, and drinking-water quality. You can also see the top 10 schools ranked by each hazard. Click on the image:

The Inquirer launched School Checkup in May 2018 as part of its award-winning investigative series “Toxic City: Sick Schools,” about the ongoing struggle to protect Philadelphia’s children, many poor and minority, from environmental harm in their classrooms.

As new inspection reports become available, we will update School Checkup and let you know.

The Inquirer’s investigative reporting is supported in part by the Lenfest Institute’s Investigative News Fund. Gifts to support the Investigative News Fund can be made at www.inquirer.com/donate. (Editorial content is created independently of the fund’s donors. A listing of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org.)