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August 28, 2006
SALEM (AP) — Asbestos was linked to cancer decades ago, but it remains embedded in dozens of outdated buildings on the 144-acre campus of the Oregon State Hospital.
Ron Parker, a hospital baker who retired from there in 2003 after 28 years, is worried.
Parker, 59, fears he may have been exposed to it before the hospital took steps to contain it.
His concerns increased when he read a story in the Statesman Journal newspaper about the facility being fined for asbestos violations.
“It just got me to thinking, how much of that stuff was back there in the foodservice area that we weren’t aware of.’’ he said. “I don’t think anybody realizes what the danger was.’’
The issue has sparked workplace-safety concerns, complicated remodeling projects and prompted officials to close parts of the West Coast’s oldest psychiatric facility.
If the state heeds consultants’ advice and levels the place, asbestos removal could cost millions of dollars.
So the hospital’s 123-year-old J Building still stands, even though it has been deemed dangerous.
Consultants say an earthquake could topple the dilapidated structure, best known as the 1970s filming site for the Hollywood movie “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.’’
Sections of the J Building and some tunnels under the hospital complex are closed because of asbestos contamination.
Workers worry about asbestos in other tunnels still used for delivering supplies and escorting patients, where asbestos warning signs are posted.
“We do so much of our legwork down in those tunnels,’’ said Lew Cronenberg, a veteran hospital worker and union local president. “That scares the death out of me. You just never know what’s in the dust.’’
The hospital buildings were built between 1883 and 1955.
“What are you going to do? It’s just an old, old, place,’’ Cronenberg said. “You’ve probably got asbestos everywhere around here.’’
Since the 1989 Legislature ordered a study to identify asbestos in state buildings, the hospital has taken steps to safeguard employees and patients, deputy hospital superintendent Maynard Hammer said.
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“It’s marked, it’s encapsulated,’’ he said. “And where it isn’t encapsulated or abated, we have signs up and sealed-off, locked doors.’’
But thousands of former patients and retired employees predate the push for safety.
Mass asbestos screenings take place throughout the country in a variety of industries but the state hasn’t screened current or former hospital employees.
Parker has no symptoms, but experts say 20 to 40 years can pass before signs of contamination appear.
Asbestos that is properly contained appears to pose little or no health hazard, experts say. The danger occurs when it becomes flaky, and inhaling the fibers can cause a debilitating scarring of the lungs or a rare and fatal form of cancer, mesothelioma.
Looking back, Parker recounted makeshift measures being taken to contain asbestos in the hospital’s kitchen, such as wrapping pipes with cloth-like material.
Durable, flexible, fireproof and cheap, asbestos was popular with builders until its health hazards became known.
It was required to protect schools from fire until 1973.
In Oregon, consultants were hired to document asbestos in state buildings in the early 1990s, and the hospital has four thick binders that identify its locations.
Abatement and containment have resolved related health hazards, Hammer said.
“It doesn’t (pose a hazard) as long as it’s not disturbed or we don’t have some damage to it,’’ he said.
A hospital employee is licensed to handle small-scale asbestos projects, Hammer said. For more extensive work, outside specialty firms are brought in.
The state Department of Environmental Quality recently fined the hospital $10,200 for allowing asbestos to accumulate in the open and for allowing a contractor to perform asbestos-related work without a license.
It also fined the contractor, Emery & Sons Construction, $3,600 but the company and the hospital say they will appeal.
“Basically, we made some mistakes in the protocol, but the citation, the actual order, refers to reckless, and we aren’t reckless,’’ Hammer said.
Source: Albany Democrat Herald, www.dhonline.comline.com
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