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Asbestos discovery won’t impact WVU commencement at coliseum

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A temporary closure of the WVU Coliseum after the discovery of asbestos will have no impact on upcoming commencement ceremonies.

According to the director of WVU Environmental Health and Safety, the discovery of encapsulated asbestos in the ceiling above the concourse restrooms expedited some of the work needed to prepare for graduation weekend.
“With this process happening and being very aggressive, very proactive, the building is actually cleaner now than it would have been when the contractors were turning over to us to get prepped for graduation,” explained John Principe.

Contractors working on a $15 million dollar summer renovation project found the suspicious material Friday forcing immediate closure of the athletic facility for precautionary measures.

The following day, WVU announced test results were negative for any air quality issues above regulatory clearance levels for occupancy.

The area containing asbestos, dating back to original construction in 1970, has been resealed.

Two Monongalia County high schools had already been notified to change the venue for their senior high graduations that have traditionally been held in the coliseum due to the ongoing construction.

Principe said plans have long been in place to work around the construction for WVU’s graduation weekend beginning May 13.

“The normal folks that make this thing happen every year have been working hard because we knew the renovation that was in place was going to impact restroom facilities and so forth. So, we’ve had contingency plans and have been planning and prepping for that. This was just something that gave us an extra thing to deal with.”

The coliseum reopened for business Tuesday two days before workers started setups for graduation.

“Everything we were going to do will kick off this Thursday as far as the basic cleaning and the prepping,” Principe added.

Exposed areas of the Coliseum, including the main arena, underwent major asbestos abatement from 1999-2000, closing the facility for about year.

Principe said the asbestos found last week was in an area not part of the original long-term abatement process.





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