Leaking pipe damages lab

Students who need to finish last minute papers or get help with computer problems lost a major on-campus resource when a leaky pipe flooded and closed the Academic Computing Lab in the old administration building Saturday.

Students arriving at the lab this week were greeted with "Police Line Do Not Cross" yellow tape across the doors and a sign stating:

"Due to water damage and possible exposure to asbestos the Academic Computing Lab will be closed until further notice."

Don Danner, the computer lab manager, was hopeful the lab would be opened soon.

"We're working as fast as we can. By next Monday we'll hopefully be back to normal. We're open during spring break from 12-5 and I hope by then we'll be fully operational," Danner said on Tuesday. "The Mac (Apple Macintosh) side of the lab might be open by tomorrow. I'm kind of in the dark right now." He said security told him this is the first time anything like this has happened.

According to Danner, student assistants came in to open the lab at noon on Saturday and discovered a leak in the northwest corner of the lab. Plant operations (who oversee building problems) came out and closed the lab placing garbage bags over disabled computers.

By 6:30 a.m. on Sunday plant operations was trying to determine where the water was coming from, apparently finding that one of the radiator pipes sprung a leak. Operations then began to move equipment and clean up approximately two inches of water which had flooded the lab.

"They caught the leak before it got too extensive," Danner said.

He said they were worried initially that the ceiling might cave-in, but a chunk of the ceiling at least 10 feet by 10 feet was removed. Danner said that 10-12 computers were affected - all of them personal computers. He said that 3 or 4 computers might be destroyed as well as a laser printer, but added "the damage to equipment was minimal - it's more of an inconvenience to the students."

Apparently the pipes which sprung a leak were coated in asbestos - a dangerous building material known to cause cancer and lung disease. Fears that students and facility could be exposed to dangerous materials prompted the closure of the lab even though water effectively neutralizes asbestos.

"Once its wet its no longer a hazard," said Robert Shearer, the director of environmental health and occupational safety at SF State. "At no time was there an asbestos problem. If its not airborne, it's not a problem." According to Shearer, asbestos is not dangerous unless it is in a state of decay and the particles become airborne. It is at this point they could be breathed into the lungs and cause problems.

"All the horror stories you here are people that have been exposed to it for several years," said Shearer. "It was the super-glue of the forties," he said. Asbestos was used in all types of building and home construction, and no problems were discovered until the early 70s when long-range testing showed its danger. People who worked in construction, shipping, and related industries were the first to have problems.

Shearer said that asbestos can be found throughout the SF State campus, but there is an asbestos management plan. He said that they know exactly where and how much asbestos is present on campus. "Myself and my staff are certified in clean up."

Danner said that they were not taking "extreme precautions" like putting up sealing walls or wearing protective suits, and workers entered and exited a door marked with "Respirators and protective clothing are required at all times in this area" without wearing any of the suggested protections. Still, reporters and photographers were denied access to the lab, and workers were evasive and disappeared when asked questions.

One worker, Jerry Brown, said "the asbestos is gone. There's not much going on in there. It's finished."

[ Golden Gater Online March 28, 1996 ]

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