Before beginning renovations on Robinson Hall, the College employed a private company last week to remove asbestos from a number of its first-floor rooms.
Assistant Director of Facilities Planning Jack Wilson said the asbestos removed from the rooms was contained in the floor tiles, for which asbestos fibers were used as a binding agent.
The rooms were formerly the offices of Outdoor Programs.
"Asbestos in this form is a very low level of hazard unless the fiber is broken up," Wilson said.
He added that before removal, the asbestos presented "no danger at all" because it was not flaking off into the atmosphere.
In the rooms, Wilson said, the asbestos containing tiles were covered by carpet, but by moving the carpet, some of the tiles were disturbed.
This proceedure created a health hazard.
"This is a pretty standard type of procedure," Wilson said.
Kathy Decato, a full-time administrative assistant in the Outdoor Programs offices said she was at first worried by the idea she had been working around asbestos.
But Decato said she now realizes that in a stable form, asbestos presents almost no danger.
Wilson said asbestos fibers "can be found around campus in many locations."
Between the early 1950s and the early 1970s, Wilson said asbestos fibers were often used as a binding agent.
Wilson said it has been College policy over the last 10 years to remove the asbestos on a systematic basis.
Now, he said, few buildings remain with a lot of asbestos in them, but it does still exist in "a few pockets" on campus.
"Much of the tile throughout Robinson Hall does have asbestos fibers in it," he said.
Wilson said in many instances the College has removed asbestos from Robinson Hall.
Remaining areas like overhead piping joints insulated with asbestos fibers will need to be removed during the building's renovations, he said.
New Hampshire has quite stringent laws about asbestos, Wilson said.
"If the asbestos itself is in a stable condition it doesn't have to be removed, but any time you need to disturb asbestos ... then the asbestos needs to be removed in an approved manner," Wilson explained.
Removing the asbestos last week was "fairly expensive," Wilson said. But, he said almost every College project has a budget set aside to finance the removal of asbestos.
