Asbestos abatement crews are working tirelessly to protect students and faculty at Oklahoma State University.
The asbestos abatement crew is part of the OSU Environmental Health and Safety service.
During a typical day, the asbestos abatement crew spends eight hours removing asbestos from classrooms or equipment involved in renovation process.
The asbestos abatement crew is also responsible for removing damaged asbestos insulation.
The crew is composed of nine people who are specially trained and licensed to deal with asbestos. The team is coordinated by Mr. John Dodson.
“Our primary mission is to protect students, faculty and staff from the health hazards of asbestos,” Dodson says. “Secondarily, we are responsible for keeping the university in compliance with federal and state regulations regarding asbestos. Finally, it is also our goal to provide these services at a lower cost to the university than outside contractors would be able to, as well as providing a response in a much shorter time than outside contractors.”
The service was founded in 1984 to respond to a federal requirement that mandates asbestos materials in schools be addressed.
“No contractors were available to do the work at that time, so OSU elected to begin its own program,” said Dodson.
The crew spends eight hours each inspecting the OSU campus for asbestos, sampling suspect material, analyzing samples in the lab and compiling reports for the inquiring party. The asbestos abatement team is constantly active due to constant repair and maintenance issues in both existing facilities and new buildings in construction.
Federal regulations require asbestos workers be retrained at annually, and Oklahoma state regulations require annual reissue of licenses.
Asbestos inhalation can lead to diseases such as pleural mesothelioma.