Since December forty-three workers at the University of Montana filed workers’ comp claims for exposure to asbestos.

The school closed McGill Hall when they detected unacceptable levels of asbestos in dust in the building. They have since reopened the building after cleanup and new furniture purchases. Some tests of surface dust in the building showed levels 80 times higher than a federal cleanup threshold for residences.

The building hosts a media lab and a preschool with around 40 children. The university ordered air tests and those tests showed no detectable levels of asbestos in the building, and asbestos can be very harmful when inhaled. But given the high levels of asbestos found in surface dust parents are worried that the air may not have been safe during certain periods.

The school repaired and re-encapsulated a steam pipe line beneath a child care center in the building, cleaned and sealed tiles through the first and second floor, as well as a floor-to-ceiling vacuuming and wiping of other surfaces. The cleanup costs are estimated at over $200,000. The school is looking for another location for the childcare facility, but students are back in the media lab in McGill.

The status of the workers’ compensation claims is yet unknown.

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