Asbestos removal complete

By Caroline Limuti
Summer Forty-Niner

Tape surrounding the Engineering Technology building Monday warned passersby to "Caution: Asbestos, Stay Clear."

The sight of workers in full-body protective suits and breathing apparatus' gave a similar message -- that the roof of the ET building on Lower Campus was beginning its construction this week.

The asbestos the workers were clearing was present at low-levels in the corners of the roof, said Dr. William Sinclair, associate dean of the College of Health and Human Services. All asbestos was removed on Tuesday, said Dale Hartmann, university construction manager.

Gear worn by the removers who work with asbestos is required to protect them from frequent exposure to asbestos that can cause asbestosis, a lung disease, Hartmann said.

The caution tape outside the ET building "doesn't mean asbestos is floating around in the air, it isn't. It is just regulations," said Hartmann, referring to Environmental Protection Agency requirements regarding asbestos removal.

Sinclair's office is on the second floor of the ET building, directly below the construction. A construction supervisor told Sinclair there is "absolutely no danger" from the asbestos.

"They say it can't get down," Sinclair said. "My understanding is that it is perfectly safe."

Hartmann said he agreed with Sinclair that the situation was safe.

"There was no hazard to the general public with what they were doing up there," Hartmann said.

The construction workers began to remove the old roof Wednesday and are scheduled to finish in 45 days, the length of the contract. The construction should be finished before classes resume in the fall, Hartmann said.

The roof was in need of repair, Sinclair said. It had been leaking for a number of years, causing water to run down the walls, almost ruining two computers.