The emergency closing of Kansas State University’s oldest building occurred late last week when the possibility of asbestos contamination was discovered.

 According to an article in The Wichita Business Journal, Steve Broccolo, emergency management coordinator of Public Safety for the university, ordered the closing of Leasure Hall last Friday due to a concern over asbestos exposure.

“A contractor was in Leasure Hall today doing exploratory work for installation of an elevator shaft,” Broccolo said. “The contractor’s employees were drilling small holes in the wall. Unfortunately, during this process, asbestos may have been released into the air.”

Broccolo took air samples and sent them to a laboratory for analysis, he said, noting that clean-up has already commenced and will probably take several days to complete. He hopes that the building will open at the end of this week, at the latest.

Leasure Hall houses the American ethnic studies program and women’s studies, according to the article. Currently, classes scheduled to take place in the building have been moved and students were notified of the change and the reason for it.

Leasure Hall was built in 1908 when the use of asbestos building materials was commonplace. Asbestos is a known carcinogen and when released into the air, it can be inhaled by those in the vicinity. Decades later, the inhaled fibers, which lodge in the chest area, can cause serious pulmonary diseases such as asbestosis and malignant mesothelioma.

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