Cal State Fullerton Says Asbestos is in Majority of Buildings

February 26, 2006 - Potentially dangerous asbestos can be found in at least 20 buildings on the campus of California State University at Fullerton, says the university’s newspaper The Daily Titan. 

Because much of the campus was constructed in the 1950s and 60s, before the asbestos warnings of the 1970s, asbestos was used in many of the products that made their way into campus buildings, including floor and ceiling tiles, adhesives, drywall tapes, roofing materials and even some air duct insulations, notes the article. 

"Most of the materials they use in construction are in solid form. When [asbestos] is in solid form, no problem," said Steven Kim, the associate coordinator of the Environmental Studies department.

However, renovations to old buildings around the university’s Orange County campus can cause concern, adds Kim.  Asbestos dust can become airborne when the material is ripped from floors, ceilings, or walls, allowing for the potential of inhalation.

"If the particles are small enough it will get trapped either in the alveoli or in any other part of the air passageway, and if someone is continually exposed to that, it will cause scarring of the lung tissue or various tissues along that air passageway," Kim said. "It's a nasty way to experience cancer."

But Kim says there’s little for students and staff to be concerned about at this point.  "You don't necessarily go through and remove material with asbestos because that actually could send it airborne, and a lot of times you're creating more of a hazard by removing it," added Scott Bourdon, associate director of Safety Programs and Services for the Environmental Health & Instructional Safety department.

The asbestos within most of the buildings is not a threat at all, say school officials. But when it decays and goes into its powdery form, Bourdon said, then it becomes a problem.

"Because it's in so many building materials on campus, it will be a very long time before it is all gone. But as locations are remodeled, the asbestos is removed as part of the project," said Tom Whitfield, director of the Environmental Health & Instructional Safety department.