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ASBESTOS
 Pipe
Coverings
Fire
Doors
Mechanical
Rooms
Exterior
Windowalls in Old Leonardtown
Floor
Tiles
Ceiling
Tiles
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Asbestos in
the Halls
Asbestos is the common name for a group of naturally occurring
minerals with good thermal and electrical insulating properties.�
Asbestos was a commonly used insulating material nationwide
in churches, schools and businesses.� Unless a building was
built after 1985 or has been completely renovated since then,
you'll likely find asbestos containing materials somewhere in
a building.�
Evidence supports that some if not all forms of airborne asbestos
fibers may lead to respiratory or gastrointestinal illness and
cancer later in life.� It is not known what amounts of asbestos
over what period of time are hazardous.� While asbestos-related
cancers have most commonly been associated with occupational
exposure to high levels of asbestos, the relationship between
exposure to low levels of asbestos and the development of cancer
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For Your Information
In accordance with federal requirements, you are notified
that certain building materials in or adjacent to your
room may contain asbestos.�
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In our unrenovated residence halls, heating and hot
water pipes often run horizontally near ceilings or
rise vertically in the corners of bedrooms or in closets.�
Pipes may either be uninsulated bare metal or covered
with fiberglass or asbestos.� Either insulating material
is contained inside a canvas cover which is usually
painted.
Most pipe coverings in the halls contain fiberglass
and are not subject to the same precautions as insulating
materials made of asbestos.� Asbestos can be found in
our unrenovated residence halls, mostly on pipe elbows
and around valves and other fittings.� Not every insulated
elbow, valve covering and fitting contains asbestos.�
Many are fiberglass or have been replaced over the years
with fiberglass coverings.� Rarely will asbestos be
found covering the straight lengths of pipe found in
student rooms.
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CAUTION
The location of every piece of pipe insulation containing
asbestos is not known.� So we ask that residents and
staff assume that all insulation on pipes should
not be disturbed.
Accordingly, residents should not hang, suspend,
drape, tape or apply anything to the insulation covering
pipes to avoid damaging the outer jacket and exposing
the materials inside.
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The insulation jackets should normally be sealed at all joints,
valves and ends to help retain the material inside and prevent
its release.� Where fiberglass has been used, the ends of
the insulation may frequently not be sealed.� However, with
asbestos insulation, the inner materials should always be
completely covered and all joints and ends sealed.� When properly
sealed, asbestos is considered safe and presents no health
risks to residents and staff.
Should you notice damage to pipe coverings, report locations
to x4-WORK immediately.� Operations &
Maintenance staff responds quickly to repair tears and rips
in insulation.
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Look for:
- impact damage to the outer insulation jacket
or any penetration into the core insulating materials,
whether the material is visible in the form of dust
or not
- areas where insulation materials are not completely
sealed where sections of the insulation meet
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| Often, insulation has been painted and
the paint has cracked over the years.� Or, you may find that
our staff did not thoroughly clean during the summer and pipes
may be coated with dust. �Dust or cracked paint on the insulation
cover does not pose a risk, but, when in doubt, report it.�
Someone trained in examining insulation will determine whether
immediate or routine corrective action is needed. |
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Leaks
or breaks in insulated hot water or heating pipes always
require the removal of the pipe coverings when the repairs
are made.� When the insulation is found to be asbestos,
additional safeguards will be taken prior to and during
the repair.� Residents will be asked to leave their rooms
and not disturb any personal belongings until the repair
and clean up has occurred.� Trained personnel responding
to pipe breaks of this nature will properly clean any
affected areas. |
| Even minor tears in insulation need repair,
like the one above in a cracked painted canvas cover over
the fiberglass insulation |
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Fire Doors
Wooden fire doors between hallways and stairwells in older
or unrenovated buildings sometimes have a mineral core containing
some asbestos.� Anytime the white core is visible or exposed,
please report the door to x4-WORK for repair or
replacement. |
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Mechanical
Rooms
Main mechanical rooms in basements or other mechanical spaces
located on upper floors or in rooftop penthouses are restricted
areas where residents are not permitted.
Each unrenovated residence hall has a main mechanical room where
hot water and heat are made and circulated through distribution
piping into the building.� Mechanical rooms are more likely
to contain asbestosinsulating materials even when most insulation
in student rooms and elsewhere in a building contains fiberglass. |
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Distribution piping in some buildings is routed through
pipe chases which are cavities behind walls where
pipes run between rooms or vertically up through a building.�
Asbestosmay be found on insulated pipes in pipe chases.�
Uncovered holes in walls where pipes are located should
also be reported, regardless of whether insulated pipes
can be seen inside.
You might notice signs like the one below on mechanical
room doors in residence halls and other buildings on
campus.� These are installed campuswide to provide some
notice to building occupants, staff and guests where
we have mechanical spaces with significant quantities
of asbestosinsulation or other asbestos-containing materials.
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Exterior Windowwall
Panels in Old Leonardtown
Asbestos was sometimes fabricated into wall panels, as was done
on the exteriors of the Old Leonardtown apartments.� The white
panels under all exterior windows is made of a hard mineral
composite known to contain some asbestos.� The exteriors of
these panels have been covered with vinyl to minimize the need
for maintenance and damage from the outside.� The inside of
the panels are painted and are not considered dangerous. |
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CAUTION
Residents should not drill into the wall panels
under the windows in bedrooms and living rooms.
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Floor Tile
Much of the floor tile found nationwide in buildings built before
the 1980s is vinyl asbestostile.� Unlike pipe coverings, vinyl
asbestostile is considered far less hazardous even under normal
or heavy wear by foot traffic if it is intact and maintained
properly.� The mastic under the floor tile (the glue holding
it to the floor) can sometimes test positive for the
presence of asbestos. |
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CAUTION
Residents should not drill into or sand floor
tiles to avoid turning the core material into dust.
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| When floor tiles are loose or have cracked
into pieces, report it to x4-WORK immediately.�
Staff will respond to remove and repair the floor surface.
One report in the news media in late 1989 raised some questions
about certain housekeeping methods disturbing asbestoslocked
in the asphalt of common floor tile.� National attention from
the report prompted the federal EPA and the Maryland Department
of the Environment to release interim guidelines for floor
care procedures.�
Our floor care procedures meet
or exceed the guidelines released then as well as the mandated
changes released in 1995 by the Environmental Protection Agency.
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Asbestos floor tile was removed or covered over
during the residence hall renovations in these halls:
Allegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Charles,
Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Howard, Kent, Montgomery,
St. Mary's, Somerset, Talbot, Washington.
No vinyl asbestos floor tile was used in:
New Leonardtown 244-249
Old Leonardtown 238-243
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Ceiling
Tiles
Much less commonly, ceiling tile mastic (the glue that holds
ceiling tiles to the structural floor above) and even some ceiling
tiles have been found to contain traces of asbestos.� |
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