Kilgore College asbestos work almost completed

An environmental consulting firm hired to oversee asbestos abatements at Kilgore College said Wednesday that almost all of its projects at the college have been completed.

There is some work at the Rangerette Gym that should be completed this weekend, ERI Consulting Inc. President Larry Snodgrass said. All of the work at Dodson Auditorium has been completed.

ERI Consulting began an inspection of the colleges buildings following allegations of asbestos exposure from Physical Plant Coordinator Dalton Smith in November. Smith alleged several areas on campus had asbestos exposure and named other areas where asbestos and other hazardous materials had been mishandled.

The firm said in December that hazard assessments and air quality tests showed the colleges buildings are safe, but future asbestos abatements and repair work were needed.

Snodgrass said the work, which was done over Christmas break, was performed by Air Quality Associates of Tyler.

We did have one more project that we recommended at the colleges library, Snodgrass said. I cant speak for the college to say if they are going to do the project or not. We recommended some small projects in the mechanical rooms of the library.

He said his firm recommended work in the Randolph C. Watson Library be completed within the next 12 months. If the college agrees, he said, work could begin in the summer.

As far as the abatements/renovations over the holidays, everything has been completed that was recommended by ERI to be completed within 30-90 days, college spokesman Chris Craddock said. The only thing left is to remove a pipe underneath the Rangerette Gymnasium floor.

The abatement projects are costing the college about $32,000 including ERIs fee, Snodgrass said.

The main work done was in Dodson Auditorium on the HVAC (Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning) duct, he said. There is the old cork insulation with a black mastic that holds the cork together. Its non-friable but we removed the materials with the highest potential to be disturbed.

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Kilgore College asbestos work almost completed