Citations
selected spot checks of poten
tial trouble areas She says she
assumed that the asbestos
covered steam pipes in campus
buildings were mostly behind
walls
Until this citation, the Univer
sity operated on the assumption
that only a small core of
workers, principally in the
heating plant, needed a
program of training and protec
tion
The University Physical Plant
has primary responsibility on
campus for handling asbestos
“The highest priority we have
now is asbestos, although we
don't have any extra money
specifically for it," says Harold
Babcock, the director of the
physical plant
Bailey says asbestos has
become a top priority in his of
fice, and a good asbestos policy
has been evolving
“When I arrived about a year
and a half ago, there was no
formal campus asbestos
policy," Bailey says “The air
monitors required for asbestos
jobs were not even functional
“We are trying hard to get our
act together, but when you are
starting from scratch it is a big
job,” he says
His primary responsibly is
radiation safety, Bailey says
With a staff of one secretary and
one part-time technician, “there
is not a lot of time for the many
other responsibilities of this of
fice
Ray Hawk, vice president for
administration and finance,
agrees that the citation was an
eye-opener The University has
invested considerable time and
money in its safety program and
has developed a sound
asbestos policy, Hawk says
“Where we broke down was a
lapse of continuity," he says
Asbestos
Closing Mac Court would only
become necessary if airborne
levels cannot be contained dur
ing the work, or if levels are
found to exceed state standards
at other times, Bailey says
If Mac Court has to be closed,
says athletic department events
manager Steven McBride, the
men's basketball team might
consider practicing at South
Eugene High School
Exposed insulation in itself
does not pose a health hazard,
Bailey says Asbetos has been
shown to be a potent
carcinogen only when the
Continued from Page 1A
The University's safety policy
stresses decentralization,
placing responsibility for safety
on department heads and their
supervisors. Hawk says
Departments can draw on the
expertise and resources of the
public safety department, which
includes Bailey's office
"We have not been doing as
good a job as I thought,’’
Babcock says of the asbestos
problem. "The citation told me
we have some work to do."
And steps have been taken in
response to the citation, he
says
Two labor crew members
have been assigned to clean the
2 3 miles of tunnels under the
campus and to cover the
damaged pipe insulation with a
protective metal casing The
project, which costs nearly
$3,000 a month in labor
expenses alone, may take two
months, he says The workers
are being monitored with air
sampling devices and have
received careful training and
protective equipment
Asbestos training has been
available to the physical plant
staff, and the required physical
examinations for asbestos
workers have been conducted,
Babcock says
He also has assigned an
employee on a 90-percent time
basis to develop a department
safety policy and manual
Until recently, the physical
plant had one employee work
ing 30 percent of the time on
safety
Manpower is a major
problem, Babcock says Two
years ago, he lost 30 workers —
about 12 percent of his staff
Interviews with physical plant
employees reveal that the
asbestos problems are long
standing
Continued from Page 1A
microscopic fibers are dis
turbed, become airborne and
are inhaled State and federal
standards have set allowable
workplace limits based on fiber
size, concentration and the
duration of a person's expo
sure, he says
Removing an asbestos
problem is difficult because dis
turbing the material and releas
es high levels of the nearly inde
structible fibers, Bailey says
The sporadic, short-term
exposure a person may get in a
building like Mac Court is
probably not a health hazard,
Mike Hostetler, acting
foreman in the heating and
ventilation shop, has worked on
the steam pipes since 1979 One
of the employees named in the
citation, Hostetler says he did
not understand the asbestos
risk until last spring, when he
attended an informal asbestos
training session that Bailey
conducted
He does not remember
wearing an asbestos-approved
mask before last spring —
although they were available —
because he was not aware of
the nature of the asbestos
hazard, Hostetler says
Before that time, he occa
sionally wore a dust particle
mask and disposable protective
overalls but only to keep the
dust off "
He was not following
approved procedures during
the inspection and had never
been monitored as required, he
says
Jerry Dominy. a physical plant
laborer also mentioned in the
citation, says that until this fall
he had not received asbestos
training during his 11 years
working for the University, in
spite of a written request for
safety training he submitted last
year
Dominy was assigned to
clean the tunnels as part of the
annual maintenance program
and was unaware that regula
tions required air monitoring or
special handling and disposal
procedures, he says
He would crawl over the torn
pipe insulation in the tunnels
and through the dust and would
pick up asbestos debris without
a mask or other precautions.
He thought the dust that
collected on the pipes was "just
dust," he says.
He recalls one job several
Bailey says
The disintegrating pipe in
sulation in Mac Court was first
noticed about three weeks ago
by Bailey, while he was observ
ing a work crew operation.
"I could not believe my eyes,"
he says He asked workers there
if there were other pipes on
campus in similar condition and
was told there were.
The operation in Mac Court
began Monday morning in a
state of confusion over proper
procedures. Kirkland directed
his crew to begin work without
first coordinating the project
years ago when he and another
laborer had to pull the asbestos
lining oft a hot water tank in an
Amazon Housing mechanical
room
"The dust was so thick on my
arms I could not see my hands."
he says Unaware of wetting
procedures that reduce air
borne particles, the workers
swept up the dust and put it in a
trash can
Regulations call for asbestos
debris to be contained in sealed
containers, such as plastic
bags, and deposited in clearly
marked containers
Strict government standards
require laundering of asbestos
laden clothes in monitored con
ditions and with the knowledge
of the people involved
Dr Indu Rughani, pulmonary
specialist with the Eugene Ho
spital and Clinic, says that
experts would probably agree
that sporadic exposure to
asbestos fibers, such as might
occur in Mac Court or occa
sional worker contact is proba
bly not "clinically significant "
Rughani says asbestos is a far
more common problem than
most people realize He sees an
average of a patient a month
with asbestos-related lung
disease
The disease can be benign,
with no clinically significant
manifestations — as with
thickening of the pleural tissue
surrounding the lungs — or it
can be fatal — involving scarring
of the lung tissue (asbestosis),
lung cancer and malignant
mesothelioma. Research in
dicated that asbestos also may
be related to other cancers, he
says.
"We are going to see a lot
more asbestos disease," he
says. "What we see now is just
the tip of the iceberg ”
with Bailey’s office.
The workers, who contacted
Bailey’s office, were sent back
to the physical plant by Don
Brooks, assistant director of the
department of public safety
There they unloaded their sup
plies but were directed by
Kirkland to reload them and
return to Mac Court that
afternoon when Bailey would be
able to set up monitoring
equipment required by state
regulations.
According to Babcock, the
confusion was only a mis
understanding.
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