2008 Woodie Awards
Building survey reveals asbestos
Laura Lawrence
Issue date: 1/13/05 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
A mandatory campus-wide survey has found about 60 buildings on campus contain a harmful carcinogen that can cause lung cancer, among other deadly diseases.
The survey, still being conducted, is of buildings built before 1983 and is looking for evidence of asbestos, according to Jim Pulliam, manager of UTC safety and risk management. Asbestos is a mineral that was used for fireproofing insulation in buildings from the 1940s to the 1980s, Pulliam said.
He said among the buildings containing asbestos are Guerry Center, Cadek Hall, Frist Hall and Hunter Hall. The ceiling or floor tiles are the most common area of contamination.
Pulliam said Pfeiffer-Stagmaier dormitory also contains evidence of asbestos, but it is not being used to house students this semester. There may also be asbestos in Boling Apartments' mechanical room. However, the information is not complete for that building. And most older buildings on campus do contain the carcinogen, he said.
The state of Tennessee is requiring all state-owned buildings that were built before 1983 to participate in the survey conducted by Terracon Consulting Engineers. David DeSavigny, a project industrial hygienist with Terracon, said the company takes a small sample of the building's material and sends it off to a lab for testing. It takes about one week to get the results back, he said.
If a building is found to contain asbestos, it is monitored very closely, Pulliam said. The area is then encapsulated so the asbestos cannot become airborne. Pulliam said this means a paint-like substance is used to bind the asbestos fibers so they cannot be released into the air.
"As long as they (the buildings) remain in good condition, there is no health hazard to the employees and occupants," Pulliam said. Asbestos is very common in ceilings, floor tiles, and pipe insulation.
If UTC employees have to work on a building containing asbestos due to damage or renovation, a third party is brought in to monitor the air particles before, during, and after the repairs take place, Pulliam said. However, the cost to replace all of the asbestos containing materials on campus would be very high, and as long repair projects are monitored and buildings maintained, there should not be any problems, Pulliam said.
Asbestos can only be harmful after long exposure to breathing in its fibers, Pulliam said. The three main diseases that are associated with asbestos exposure include lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis. Long-term exposure to asbestos is considered to be 20 to 30 years of working closely around the carcinogen.
Although the asbestos is not seen as a problem, Pulliam and DeSavigny strongly encourage any one to report damages they see in buildings on campus to the Safety and Risk Management office.
The survey, still being conducted, is of buildings built before 1983 and is looking for evidence of asbestos, according to Jim Pulliam, manager of UTC safety and risk management. Asbestos is a mineral that was used for fireproofing insulation in buildings from the 1940s to the 1980s, Pulliam said.
He said among the buildings containing asbestos are Guerry Center, Cadek Hall, Frist Hall and Hunter Hall. The ceiling or floor tiles are the most common area of contamination.
Pulliam said Pfeiffer-Stagmaier dormitory also contains evidence of asbestos, but it is not being used to house students this semester. There may also be asbestos in Boling Apartments' mechanical room. However, the information is not complete for that building. And most older buildings on campus do contain the carcinogen, he said.
The state of Tennessee is requiring all state-owned buildings that were built before 1983 to participate in the survey conducted by Terracon Consulting Engineers. David DeSavigny, a project industrial hygienist with Terracon, said the company takes a small sample of the building's material and sends it off to a lab for testing. It takes about one week to get the results back, he said.
If a building is found to contain asbestos, it is monitored very closely, Pulliam said. The area is then encapsulated so the asbestos cannot become airborne. Pulliam said this means a paint-like substance is used to bind the asbestos fibers so they cannot be released into the air.
"As long as they (the buildings) remain in good condition, there is no health hazard to the employees and occupants," Pulliam said. Asbestos is very common in ceilings, floor tiles, and pipe insulation.
If UTC employees have to work on a building containing asbestos due to damage or renovation, a third party is brought in to monitor the air particles before, during, and after the repairs take place, Pulliam said. However, the cost to replace all of the asbestos containing materials on campus would be very high, and as long repair projects are monitored and buildings maintained, there should not be any problems, Pulliam said.
Asbestos can only be harmful after long exposure to breathing in its fibers, Pulliam said. The three main diseases that are associated with asbestos exposure include lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis. Long-term exposure to asbestos is considered to be 20 to 30 years of working closely around the carcinogen.
Although the asbestos is not seen as a problem, Pulliam and DeSavigny strongly encourage any one to report damages they see in buildings on campus to the Safety and Risk Management office.
