City inspectors discover asbestos in high rises

High rises will be closed for repairs during summer, fall University officials are expected to announce today that certain floors of the high rises will be closed this summer and next fall to allow for the removal of large quantities of asbestos from the dormitories, a source in Residential Living said yesterday. Residential Living Director Gigi Simeone confirmed that students will be relocated to the Graduate Towers, Stouffer College House, Van Pelt College House, Low Rise North and Hamilton Court in order to "accommodate the correction of on-going and serious maintenance concerns." Simeone refused to comment on reports that asbestos had recently been discovered in the high rises. But according to documents obtained by The Daily Pennsylvanian, including correspondence between Residential Maintenance officials and city inspectors, "several metric tons" of the carcinogenic fire retardant were found in the walls of High Rise East and High Rise South earlier this month by city inspectors checking the University's fire-stopping procedures. Bennet Levin, head of the city's licenses and inspections department, confirmed yesterday that his crews had found asbestos in the buildings during a routine inspection procedure. Levin said the material must be removed in order to bring the buildings up to code, but he added that he does not believe the asbestos -- which has been shown to cause lung cancer -- poses a threat to students living in the high rises. "In the walls it's not really dangerous," Levin said of the asbestos. "It's just extremely bad if it's in a dust form, like where there might have been drilling between floors." According to one of the documents, such drilling recently occurred when Residential Maintenance wired all high rise rooms for Resnet. "We found the asbestos in a fine, powdery form all over those storage lockers up there," said one city inspector who checked the building but wished to remain nameless because he feared for his job. The worker, who said he developed a hacking cough shortly after making the inspection tour of the high rises, has missed several days of work recently and said he is considering suing the University. "You really shouldn't be on those floors without proper protective suits and masks," he said. Residential Living forced students to clean out several lockers in High Rise East and High Rise South earlier this week. Levin said yesterday that all students who came into contact with the lockers should be tested immediately for asbestos exposure and that any luggage removed from the storage lockers should be burned. At the time the students were originally asked to clean out the lockers, Mike Palladino, the director of network installations, planning and video for Data Communications and Computing Services, said the action was taken because city inspectors had found problems with "the University fire-stopping techniques." "Well, I didn't exactly lie," Palladino said. "I just didn't want anyone to panic." Palladino admitted that he had been aware of the asbestos problem for several years, but was instructed by officials in the University's Office of Risk Management not to tell anyone. "He paid me a lot of money not to talk," Palladino said referring to $300,000 cash settlement Assistant Director of Risk Management Ronald Jasner paid him. Jasner, who said he would match or better the amount he gave to Palladino if I didn't quote him, said students should have known the asbestos was there. "This is being blown way out of proportion," he said as he hastily packed a bag in his office yesterday, a ticket to Acapulco in his hand.

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