According to the University of Washington newspaper website, the DailyUW.com, officials at the college spent the weekend dealing with a major pipe leak at the campus’ Central Steam Plant. Despite the problem, campus residents and those working on campus, including staff at UW Medical Center, were still able to receive hot water and heat.

The leak occurred in a pipe that had been installed around 1967, according to Facilities Services. Initially, crews were planning to shut down the entire steam plant in order to repair the pipe, but Mark Kirschenbaum, Assistant Director of Campus Utilities, was able to begin repair work without closing the plant.

The repair work became even more arduous with the discovery of asbestos surrounding the broken pipe, said Kirschenbaum. The 40-year old pipe was surrounded entirely by asbestos insulation, which was removed by a licensed asbestos abatement company.

Kirschenbaum and the asbestos abatement company stated that “Since it was a water leak, and asbestos isn’t airborne when it’s wet, there really wasn’t much of a concern for asbestos contamination.”

Even so, to be on the safe side, the asbestos abatement company did monitor the air in the steam plant to ensure that no asbestos had become airborne.

Airborne asbestos may lead to the development of a number of ailments, including asbestosis, asthma, mesothelioma cancer, or other respiratory complications.

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