The Hall of poetry, prose and Shakespearean monologues on the University’s campus has a rhythm and meter controlled by the sounds of jackhammers, wrenches and workers in hazmat suits this summer.
Allen Hall, located in the Quad, is undergoing construction to move the building’s elevator to another part of the building due to the location of the air conditioning and plumbing systems near the elevator’s previous site.
According to Assistant Director of LSU Planning, Design & Construction Tammy Millican, the renovation is one of the University’s student-fee projects this summer, and the process begins with asbestos testing followed by asbestos abatement if necessary.
In 1989, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned all new uses of asbestos, but asbestos materials used before 1989 were still permitted. Asbestos does not create health issues unless the material is disturbed.
According to the National Cancer Institute, when asbestos is disturbed, such as in a construction environment, asbestos fibers are released into the air, and when breathedin, the fibers can remain in a human’s lungs, causing scarring and inflammation.
As the University constructed most of its buildings before 1989, Allen Hall had asbestos materials around the piping where the old elevator was located. After finding the disturbed materials, the University contacted Gill Industries to abate the asbestos.
Currently on multiple floors in Allen Hall, compartments are set up with caution tape and signs reading “Decontamination Station” plastered on plastic coverings. Millican said Gill Industries employees used the compartments, as protocol demands, to remove hazmat suits, shower and dress after work.
While the abatement process has ended, Millican said the University will complete most of the major construction by October and the elevator installation by December.
English Department Administrative Program Specialist Valerie Hudson, said the construction affected three English professors’ offices on the second floor and the department’s multimedia/film classroom on the first floor.
“It’s been a difficult process for the English department and will be through the fall semester,” Hudson said via email. “However, the end result will be fabulous! Everyone will have a fantastic new elevator, which will also allow wheelchair-bound passengers to safely and easily enter and exit.”