Dartmouth Begins Abatement Process After Asbestos Found in Alumni Gymnasium

Officials at Dartmouth College have begun the process of removing asbestos from the school's Alumni Gymnasium. 

According to The Dartmouth, the Office of Environmental Health and Safety detected the loose asbestos in debris that fell from the ceiling in the gymansium. 

In a statement from EHS that was co-signed by senior vice president of capital planning and campus operations Josh Keniston and EHS director Annette Chism the college wrote that it believes the asbestos were dislodged by “vibrations from the weight-lifting equipment” on the second floor.

Rooms 115, 116, 117 and 118 — all of which are coach offices — have been closed for further testing, and the affected coaches have been temporarily relocated. 

EHS staff took samples from Alumni Gym's ventilation system a day after the initial discovery of the debris. Tests indicated that the asbestos has been "contained" within the offices that were closed. The school doesn't anticipate having to close any other areas of the gym, but the weightlifting that sits above the gym has been suspended for the foreseeable future. 

The school is now working with a contractor and an external environmental health and safety consultant on abatement. 

Asbestos “can still be found in many structures throughout the country” because of its “historical use in construction,” according to EHS’s statement. It becomes dangerous when thin, airborne fibers are dislodged and breathed in, entering individuals’ lungs, according to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services website. These fibers can cause a raft of serious health problems, including lung cancer, lung tissue scarring, asbestosis — a chronic lung disease caused by inhaling asbestos fibers — and mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lung cavity.

“We’ve been communicating directly with all of the affected employees in Alumni Gym in order to make sure that those who are directly impacted understand the plan and what the next steps are,” Kenniston said. 

The school said it will share additional information with students on the situation as it becomes available.