Asbestos Found at University of Wyoming
Thursday, October 29th, 2009On October 21, 2009, Wyoming state officials announced that demolition work at the University of Wyoming scattered a material containing asbestos that may have exposed the public to the carcinogen. The project at the Bureau of Mines Building on the main campus in Laramie caused suspect materials to be “scattered all over the outside of the building where the public could be exposed,” according to the violation notice issued September 28 by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality.
The notice states the university failed to conduct an asbestos inspection, provide notification, and remove a regulated asbestos-containing material before demolition. Additionally, the university also failed to use trained personnel to remove the material and didn’t adequately wet it down or place it in leak-tight containers ahead of disposal, the notice states.
Asbestos was frequently used as insulation in older buildings. Inhaling airborne asbestos fibers is believed to be a cause of lung cancer and a rare type of cancer called mesothelioma.
