There is a 1 percent chance that air samples in any Lehighton Area Middle School wing may test positive for asbestos fibers following an abatement project scheduled to begin over Thanksgiving break.

That outlook came Monday night from Jeff Miller, project designer for JMSI Environmental Corp, who is overseeing the job for the district.Miller spoke at a parent information session scheduled to address safety concerns about the project."It's very rare, but if it does happen we will keep working and testing until there are no fibers detected," Miller said. "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency allows for clearance to be attained with an average of less than 70 structures per square millimeter, but we are going above and beyond that. We won't accept any fibers."Lehighton is spending $344,900 to completely rid the nearly 60-year-old building of asbestos to prepare it for a mechanical renovation project that will add a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system.Sargent Enterprises of Jim Thorpe has the abatement contract.Monday's meeting drew just five parents and around five other community members.Resident Wilmer Everetts questioned the timing of a 5:30 p.m. meeting, which was announced by the district on Thursday."I think it should be rescheduled," he said. "5:30 is a very hard time for working parents to make and having just been announced on Thursday, this is a very quick turnaround for this type of meeting."Lehighton Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver said the meeting started at 5:30 because the district had another meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. the same night.Highlights of the abatement and air testing process:• Each work area will be placed under full containment with negative air pressure providing six air changes per hour.• Each work area will be separated from adjoining areas by two layers of 6 mil polyethylene sheeting.• All non-friable asbestos containing materials will be removed in a manner to keep them non-friable through the whole process including until they have been loaded on a waste trailer and shipped to an approved landfill.• All friable asbestos containing materials will be removed using a glove bag method where permissible.• All areas adjacent to a work area will be under continuous air monitoring during abatement activities.• Air samples will be hand delivered to EMSL Analytical in Plymouth Meeting, where they will undergo analysis.• Upon clearance of each work area, sample results will be posted and the district will begin the process of replacing all desks, chairs, equipment.A full list of procedures can be found, along with a project schedule at

www.lehighton.org.