Asbestos in the attic

The University of Toledo’s Rocky’s Attic, located on the fourth floor of the student union, continues to use materials that have been found to have asbestos from the building’s original construction.

Much of the asbestos containing material, such as steel structural beams and floor tile, were put in in the 1980s, though it still remains in the elbows of Rocky’s Attic’s plumbing.

Tim Niederkorn, Chemical Hygiene Officer and Environmental Specialist of the University of Toledo’s Environmental Health and Radiation Safety Department, explained that is very common for buildings built prior to 1975 to have asbestos containing materials as part of their construction.

“If the asbestos containing material is in good condition, we leave it alone. If the asbestos containing material is in bad condition, then we repair it to make it in good condition again or we replace it.”

The groups that put on events in Rocky’s are not made aware of the asbestos containing material upon booking the room because Niederkorn said, it does not pose as a threat to their health.

Niederkorn said, “The asbestos in here is not floating around in the air; it becomes a health threat when you breathe it in. The asbestos here is keeping the hot water pipes hot and the cold water pipes cold.”

The University of Toledo calls a certified contractor in to fix any asbestos containing materials that are potentially harmful due to its poor condition. Niederkorn explained that UT essentially paid a consultant a few years ago over a five-year period to go through and re-inventory the university’s asbestos containing materials and complete a “condition assessment.”

“They walk through every square foot of every square building, roughly 1 million square feet, to figure out what’s in good condition and what needs to be fixed.” Niederkorn said.

The condition analysis of the elbows in Rocky’s Attic stated, “good condition with potential for damage.” The potential for damage would be spurred for example, from a worker hitting the asbestos containing material with a ladder or hammer, making the asbestos fiber more likely to release.

According to the EPA website, exposure to asbestos can increase chances of lung disease. However, exposure to asbestos only occurs when the fibers and particles are released into the air.

Recently, there was a small problem with one of the pipe fittings in Rocky’s Attic that was assessed and then removed.

During removal, visqueen, a durable polyethylene sheeting, has been put up to make a negative pressure enclosure. Heavy duty HEPA filters, a type of mechanical air filter, have been installed to suck the air out and filter it, then it is blown into the rest of the area to create negative pressure in the work zone so that fibers cannot escape.

“This is how asbestos containing materials are managed; it’s best practice,” Niederkorn said.