Dorms undergo asbestos removal

Nadine Reitman Guest Writer

On Thursday, Sept. 28, an asbestos abatement project took place in Josselyn and Cushing Houses. The project, which is part of a larger effort on campus to gradually update all of the dorms, was done by state-licensed asbestos contractors BSB Construction, Inc. of Poughkeepsie.

The projects in both dorms were small, according to BSB Construction Supervisor Brent Fullum. In Josselyn’s basement, BSB Construction removed an eight-square-foot piece of transite, a board-like material used as a fire barrier, and one foot of pipe insulation. In the elevator room in Cushing, they removed 10 feet of pipe insulation.
As required by law, signs were posted on all doors of the affected dorms notifying students of the asbestos abatement. Residents of Josselyn and Cushing may or may not have noticed the small-print signs, but once aware of the project, some expressed health concerns. Josselyn resident Sarah Saiz ’10 asked, “Isn’t asbestos poisonous? Why didn’t anyone tell us it was happening?”

Because asbestos can cause lung cancer when inhaled, many safety precautions were used in order to prevent asbestos exposure to the dorms’ residents. “Vassar College makes us go above and beyond state regulations,” said Fullum. Empire Enviro Solutions, an independent company, tested air quality during the renovation, which is not required by the state for abatement projects, and all construction areas were sealed off.

“Asbestos is not dangerous until it is friable, which means it is in the air and can be breathed in,” said Buildings and Grounds Supervisor of Plumbing and Heating Dave Bishop. “It is not friable in either of these cases. Both projects are removal for prevention of becoming friable.”

Josselyn House Advisor Michael Penwell explained that Josselyn and Cushing were built in 1912 and 1927, respectively, when asbestos was common in building materials. Now, the College is “identifying items that need to be removed and prioritizing them,” explained Penwell. The College may wait until next summer to remove any non-friable asbestos in places accessible to students.

Penwell noted that before freshmen moved in this year, the basement of Davison was sealed off for asbestos removal. Even though there were a few people living in the building at the time, no one was in danger of breathing asbestos because of safety precautions. “[The College] takes safety very seriously, because if students get sick from asbestos removal, there’s a lawsuit waiting to happen,” said Penwell.