Asbestos found in Metcalf bathroom

Facilities workers recently found asbestos in the basement bathroom of Metcalf during pre-renovation inspections. The process to remove the asbestos will begin on Dec. 21, after students have left for winter break.

Asbestos, a mineral that can be used as an insulator or fire retardant, has classified it as a known human carcinogen, and long term exposure can cause a lung disease called asbestosis by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It has been used in many types of building materials, plastics, paper products, and other products.

While responding to student complaints about the poor condition of the basement bathroom, Facilities workers found nine inch by nine inch tiles in the sub-floor, located directly underneath the tile floor. Tiles of this size commonly contain asbestos in them and therefore warranted further tests, Facilities Director Ron Esposito said.

Asbestos is not dangerous when contained inside tiles or pipe insulation, Esposito said. But once exposed, fine asbestos fibers can be inhaled and cause various health problems.

Removal of asbestos from campus occurs on a regular basis. Asbestos has been found previously on campus, typically during summer renovations or in uninhabited maintenance areas.

The Metcalf bathroom had been in horrible condition, freshman Cathy Lu said, and should have been fixed before students came to Tufts this fall. Sinks and toilets are often backed up, and there are holes in the ceiling, eroding floors, and malfunctioning showerheads.

"They should have done summer inspection before we all moved in and it was clearly uninhabitable," Lu said, saying an inspection may have led to earlier discovery of the asbestos-containing tiles.

The abatement process, and subsequent bathroom renovations, will not begin until after finals have ended. "We did not want to create that much of a disturbance because of the seriousness of final exams," Esposito said. Renovations will be completed just before students return from winter break, he said."

Massachusetts law states that the asbestos removal process can only last 21 days, Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate Services committee chair Alison Clarke said. "They will get it done as quickly as possible so residents will be totally safe."

Metcalf, however, is used as winter housing for athletes over break. In order to make sure that students are not exposed to the toxic material, students will not live in the hall's basement over the break, Esposito said.

Residential Life Director Yolanda King spoke with the residents of the Metcalf basement to explain the situation and assuage concerns. "Once we were clearly told what was going, on we were okay with it," Lu said. "We understood that we weren't going die."

The EPA and the State of Massachusetts enforce strict guidelines on the removal of asbestos from buildings, called the abatement process. The contractor hired to do the bathroom renovations will be responsible for the abatement.

The area around the bathroom must be fully closed off to begin the abatement process, Esposito said. Thick plastic material will be hung from floor to ceiling, and an exhaust system will be installed to draw air from the area. Doing so creates negative pressure, from which airborne mechanisms cannot escape. A special type of vacuum system will create a hepafilter, which will filter out any asbestos particles, Esposito said.

An independent asbestos project manager and an independent test firm will supervise the abatement. Tests will be taken before, during, and after the abatement process, which will not be finished until the test results show "zero" asbestos particles in the air, Esposito said.

The contractor in charge of the project must be licensed by the state to conduct the abatement process, and the entire project is governed by the EPA and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.