Tulsa’s Department of Human Services (DHS) employees quickly evacuated their Tulsa office building on Monday after construction workers began removing tiles that were made of hazardous asbestos.

According to an article in Tulsa World, all workers and visitors at the Edmondson building were safely evacuated, including DHS workers, said George Johnson, DHS spokesman.

“When the construction workers recognized (the tiles) as asbestos tiles, they stopped the work and called in emergency people,” Johnson said. He added that the tiles were being removed during a routine maintenance procedure and that workers were originally unaware of the presence of asbestos.

“It will take several days for the DEQ to go through and assess the entire 90,000-square-foot building to see what actions need to be taken by the state in order to bring the building back up to code,” Johnson said.

The Edmondson Building is one of the busiest in the city, housing a large number of city offices. Thousands of people come through the building each day.

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