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Pac-10 Projections
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Oregon daily
CONFERENCE
emerald
Wednesday, September 26, 1984
Eugene, Oregon
Volume 86, Number 19
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Long-awaited asbestos removal underway
By Jolayne Houtz
Of the Kmer.ld
An asbestos removal project on the east wing of the
20-year-old Science I building began Monday with the
erection of a two-layer plastic “cocoon” to keep the air
as clean as possible, according to Muriel Jackson,
Assistant for Administration.
The project Is scheduled to be completed in 21 days,
according to the contract, at a cost of $107,720. Jackson
says additional fees include an architect’s fee for
surveying the project. The State Board of Higher Educa
tion allocated $150,000 for the project.
Jackson explained that because of the potentially
hazardous nature of the product being removed, the
CBB Construction Co. erected the cocoon to “contain
any material that might be dislodged from beams that
are coated with a substance that is about 85 percent
asbestos.”
When the actual removal process starts, the asbestos
coating will be saturated with wetting solutions and
water and removed in chunks, so that the “possibility
of free-floating material will be relatively remote,” ac
cording to Jackson.
But not all the asbestos can be contained in this way,
so a special filtering process will suck the air out of the
cocoon, through filters which will remove all asbestos
particles and blow out clean air, according to Eric
Schabtach, director of the University Electron
Microscope Facility. The facility is conducting air
quality testing in conjunction with the Environmental
Health Service.
The project was initiated last spring when 259
students and faculty petitioned the University to do
something about the asbestos coating which had been
flaking off as birds and weather weakened the cement
holding the asbestos in place.
“University air samplings at the time said the air
borne asbestos was not a health threat, but we wished to
be responsive,” Jackson says.
Shaip asbestos fibers can lodge in a person's lungs,
causing various health problems including asbestosis, a
lung-disabling disease caused by scarring of the lung
tissue, and lung cancer.
University Office of Environmental Health and Safety
Manager Ed Bailey says, “We felt levels were unaccep
table, and asbestos was losing its capacity as a fire
retardant. “
Bailey, who is also health physicist for the office, fur
ther stated that the project moved slowly at first. “But
when Dan Williams (Vice President for Administration)
took office, he’s been receptive since day one.”
“It’s the potential for danger that we’re concerned
about, and any amount of asbestos exposure is con
sidered to present an increased risk,” Bailey says.
The governmental standard for airborne asbestos is .5
fibers per centimeter of air sampling, but Bailey says
the standard for the University project is .03 fibers per
centimeter.
Eventually, the interior asbestos will also be remov
ed, but “the largest percentage of asbestos was on the
exterior of the building, and it could not be done
simultaneously,” Jackson says.
A plan is in progress at the Physical Plant to identify
other asbestos locations on campus. When the current
project on the Science I building is completed, “then it
will be determined what is the appropriate course of ac
tion (regarding the other buildings),” Jackson says.
The University’s personnel office has developed
plans for employees who do not wish to work in the
wing during the removal portion of the three-week pro
ject. Options include taking vacation time to being
assigned to work in another office during that period.
If monitoring tests at any time during the project
show that airborne asbestos levels inside the east wing
have exceeded acceptable standards, all employees in
the wing would report to the personnel office for
reassignment.
"The Science Library is open during the regular
hours, and though we’re a little short-staffed, it’s
business as usual,” says library head Isabel Stirling.
“It hasn’t been as inconvenient as I’d thought it
would be,’’says Sharron Anderson, secretary for the
Technical Science Administration.
They're supposed to seal the windows inside and
out, but right now only the inside is sealed with duct
tape, and there’s no protection if one window should
break," Anderson says.
The windows will be resealed as soon as the plastic
Photo by Michael Clapp
During asbestos removal at the Science I building,
students should use east and west side doors to move
from one portion of the building to another.
cocoon is in place, according to Schabtach, and “the
project is being handled probably better than it’s ever
been handled before.
“The bottom line is keeping people safe and healthy,
and we want to be as sure as possible that no one gets
exposed to high levels of asbestos,” Schabtach says.
Secretary hopefuls square off
By Paul Ertelt
Of the Emerald
Former newscaster, Don Clark, and state
Rep. Donna Zajonc, R-Salem, Tuesday recom
mended actions to invalidate voter registration
by homeless new arrivals to the Ra
jneeshpuram commune and prevent the Ra
jneeshees from “taking over” Wasco County.
But state Rep. Barbara Roberts, D-Portland,
said that the best way to beat the Rajneeshees
is at the polls.
The three candidates for secretary of state
made their remarks at a press conference and
debate held by the Eugene Rotary Club in the
Black Angus Restaurant.
Clark and Zajonc said the secretary of state’s
office should challenge every newly registered
voter in Wasco County and investigate any
possible violation of Oregon election law by
the Rajneeshees.
The commune leaders may have violated a
state law prohibiting the use of “undue in
fluence” to persuade people to register and
vote. Zajonc said undue influence includes
giving money or “anything of value.”
“I believe room and board is something of
value,” she said.
Clark said the Rajneeshees present a “clear
and present danger” to the citizens of Oregon
and have made clear their intentions to control
politics in Wasco County and throughout the
state.
“(The Rajneeshees) say by the year 2000
there will be no Oregon,” he said. “They say
there will only be a Rajneeshpuram.”
Oregon’s constitution prohibits the
establishment of a residence for the purpose of
voting while a person is receiving state relief,
Zajonc said. She said she has asked the at
torney general to investigate whether the
newcomers are receiving any state aid and if
their registrations should be disqualified.
Clark said that the large number of measures
on the general election ballot this year in
dicates voters’ lack of confidence in state
government and a desire to take things into
their own hands. He said he supported Ballot
Measure 2, which would limit property tax,
because it is the only option left for Oregon
taxpayers.
But Roberts said the measure would
devastate the state’s education system and take
away its infrastructure, thus sending the
wrong message about Oregon’s ability to rise
above the recent economic downturn.
“This is a meat ax approach to govern
ment,” she said. “We want to show the rest of
the nation we’re getting back on our feet and
are going to be healthy again.”
Roberts said that her 19 years in public ser
vice makes her the most experienced and best
qualified to be secretary of state. Zajonc has
only spent six years in the Legislature and
Clark has never been elected to public office,
she said.
Zajonc insisted that issues and not qualifica
tions were the key to the race. She said she
supports voting by mail, open primaries and a
20-day voter registration cutoff to prevent
voter fraud. Roberts voted against all three.
Clark said that Roberts’ and Zajonc’s ex
perience in the Legislature should count
against them. “The 1983 Legislature took
more time to accomplish less than any
legislature in the history of Oregon.”
Humanities center funded
By Michael Doke
Of the Emerald
Citing an effort to make the
University a more important
force in the community, of
ficials announced Tuesday a
$210,000 grant for the school’s
Center for the Humanities.
The three-year National En
dowment for the Humanities
grant, including $190,000 in
outright funds along with addi
tional NEH matching funds of
$20,000 on gifts raised by the
University, will provide a
$230,000 budget for a
humanities outreach program at
the University.
“One of the things the
University has been trying to do
lately is bring its message to the
public — what it is we do and
its significance,” Pres. Paul
Olum said at a news conference
announcing the award.
The public outreach program
provided by the grant will give
the University a “traveling
show,” bringing the humanities
to the rest of Oregon through a
series of public lectures, Olum
said.
The award will provide fun
ding for the annual Fall Con
vocation activities and will pro
vide for wider distribution of In
quiry, the University’s research
journal.
The NEH grant will also pro
vide funding to continue the
three-year-old University
Forum lecture series in
downtown Eugene. The series
features speakers from the
University, including a lecture
by Olum called “The History of
the Manhattan Project,” in
November and a lecture by
English Prof. Thelma Green
field called “Soul for Sale: The
Legend of Faust in Western
Culture” in October. The
Greenfield address will be
presented in conjunction with
the Eugene Opera’s production
of Gounod’s “Faust.”
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