Asbestos, a heat resistant mineral that once was used in fire-resistant products but which has been linked to multiple forms of cancer, was discovered in the tiles on the second floor of the SC building where renovations are taking place, on January 13.
According to Mercer’s Facilities Director, Bryon Marshall, the college contracted an asbestos remediation company to remove the floor tiles containing the asbestos.
Facilities Supervisor, Fred Carella, explained the steps that were taken to get rid of the asbestos.
First, the area was carefully sealed to prevent any asbestos fibers, the element that is dangerous and potentially cancer-causing if inhaled, from leaving. Thick plastic sheets with large red warning signs were easily seen by anyone passing by.
Next, the floor tiles containing the asbestos were heated up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit to avoid any chance of breakage.
Finally, the tiles were put into sealed garbage bags and deposited into a special sealed dumpster.
After the tiles were removed, a chemical stripper was used to remove the glue that held them down, which also contains asbestos.
Carella says that throughout the entire process, air quality samples were taken. Once it was deemed safe for occupancy, the area was unsealed and construction can continue.
The West Windsor campus was built in the late 1960s to early 1970s, at a time when the dangers of using asbestos were not widely known. At the time asbestos was used in all sorts of modern construction from bricks, wire insulators, ceiling, and floor tiles, to even some textiles.
According to the advocacy group Mesothelioma Help Cancer Organization, in 1989 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) passed the Clean Air Act, which required emission standards be set for harmful pollutants and chemicals. That same year the EPA rolled out the Asbestos Ban and Phase-Out Rule, which got overturned in 1991 by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Because of this, the EPA was only able to ban the use of asbestos in any products made after 1989, meaning colleges like MCCC that were built in the late 1960s still contained and do contain asbestos which was used as a fire retardant. When discovered during construction projects like the one going on now, the careful steps have to be taken to remove it in order to prevent serious safety risks.
According to College President Dr. Jianping Wang, “We have standard procedure that we follow. It’s pretty much prescribed by the EPA.”
In June of 2019, the EPA enacted a new ruling that would prohibit all new and old uses of asbestos until the EPA had time to make sure that they were not a danger to the public.
