SUNY Students Worry Over Asbestos Exposure

By Alison Gonzalez

Published on October 12, 2007

Residents of Crispell Hall were alerted about construction in their dormitory through an e-mail earlier this month. They were told to leave their windows closed and not to tamper with a drape that was covering the entire third floor for their safety.

But students disregarded the message and opened their windows after a heat wave hit the area earlier this week. Now students and their parents are concerned about the possibility of exposure to the dangerous substance as a result.

Inhaling asbestos can eventually lead to potentially fatal diseases, such as mesothelioma and lung cancer.

Students have also seen dust coming off the top of the building, and yellow tape printed with "Danger Asbestos" blocking off an unconfined dumpster nearby.

Eric Gullickson, campus spokesman, said students are safe and that the dust is probably from the removal of concrete. He added that the college environmental staff is monitoring the work along with the Dormitory Authority.

Similar construction is scheduled for four other dorms, which house nearly 1,000 students.

The university has dealt with similar toxin issues in the past. Some campus buildings were contaminated with PCB in 1991 because of transformer explosions, resulting in a $50 million cleanup project.

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