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opinion:
our view
Asbestos: coming
to a department near you
Will there ever come
a day when all the asbestos is removed from the campus of Cal
State University Long Beach?
The tiny fibers
that can cause a number of health problems - even a rare type
of cancer called mesothelioma - are popping up in places throughout
the CSULB campus in more places than you may think.
Recently, the fireproof
fiber that was used largely in the 1960s and '70s was found
in the university fountain's concrete outside Brotman Hall.
This halted construction, and forced the university to call
in air quality monitors as well as special teams to remove
the concrete and the waterproofing membrane because the asbestos
in the fountain is considered a hazardous material.
Earlier this summer,
you might remember reading the article in the On-line Forty-Niner
about the removal of asbestos from Capt. Stan Skipworth's
office of the University Police. Yet another place the fiber
was discovered. And still, last February a report from the
Daily Forty-Niner (February 24, 2000) stated 62 buildings
on campus contained asbestos.
Wow, that's a lot
of asbestos.
Although the exposure
levels to asbestos must be pretty high and lengthy in order
to pose any real danger, CSULB is loosing money in order to
take care of this problem. Is the whole school an asbestos
ridden bunch of buildings from floor to ceiling? What's going
to happen to these other 62 buildings? Will they have to be
rebuilt?
Well there is one
thing for sure: the new science building on Hardfact Hill
will not have it and that is only because asbestos was banned
in 1978 as building material. That law was probably passed
after thousands of construction workers had their lungs crystallized
by the floating fibers.
Construction is
everywhere at CSULB during the summer. Is the asbestos?
We all should take
our hats off to Scott Charmack, the associate vice president
of physical planning and facilities management for taking
the incentive to call in the extra help so that people would
feel safe in their workplace. It is too bad that the university
has to pay extra in order for this to happen.
Construction around
the Social Science and Public Affairs building is going on
right now and workers are wearing masks. Should the students
in the building be wearing them too? The students are also
in the basement. Though asbestos was removed from
the tile back in the early '90s does the same go for the roof
and the pipes these workers are removing? Wait, it is not
that harmful, right?
Just take little
breaths.
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