PIERCE COLLEGE : Asbestos Removal Is Continuing

Asbestos, a fire retardant mineral that has been shown to cause lung cancer, is being removed from the Pierce College campus.

A 1982 Certified Laboratory Inc. test showed asbestos to be in 76% of the Woodland Hills college’s buildings. It is now being removed from the boiler room of the machine-automotive building.

Asbestos already has been removed from the agricultural-science building, the business education building and the school’s cafeteria, said Kelly Simpson, who is in charge of the removal for Long & Co.

There will be more asbestos removal projects in the future, Simpson said. “It’s an ongoing process.”

Asbestos removal projects are precarious because during such removal, there is a potential danger of releasing the fiber into the air, the very thing such projects try to prevent, Simpson said.

Much of the work was done during the summer when the buildings were not in use. Also, because of the danger, removal projects are initiated only when leaving the mineral in place represents a greater danger than its removal, Simpson said.

Upon completion of the removal, many of the buildings will still contain asbestos, but only two, the automotive laboratory and the men’s gym lobby, will still contain “friable” asbestos, Simpson said.

Friable asbestos is asbestos that can easily be crumbled and has a greater danger of being released into the air.