Hundreds Of Workers Sent Home As A Precaution -- MesoLink.org -- 11-10-05

Hundreds of workers at the Capitol Complex building were sent home earlier in the week as a precaution due to the possible risk of asbestos exposure. The evacuation came after fears that contractors in some of the areas of the building may have inadvertently exposed the workers to asbestos while working on some renovations and repair work.

Three of the buildings in the complex had to be evacuated in the end, with around sixteen hundred workers being sent home. The risk of exposure came after a contractor inadvertently caused exposure while working on the shaft of an elevator. Those forced to leave early as a result of the possible exposure were in buildings five, six and seven.

A number of state departments are housed in the buildings that were affected. All of these buildings had to be evacuated because of a shared ventilation system, which meant that the air in any of them or all of them could have been contaminated.

Testing is now being carried out in the possibly affected buildings, and cleaning work is also to be carried out. While the air systems are being cleaned and monitored, lab tests are being carried out into the air quality in the buildings.