NIU is still waiting for $3.8 million to remove the asbestos fireproofing from the now dismantled University Health Service building.

“We made the decision (to move the health center) based on health and safety. Whether there is money or not doesn’t change the environment in the building,” said Eddie Williams, NIU vice president of finance and planning.

“Yes, we made the decision without the appropriation. But, the decision was one that had to be made regardless of whether there was money or not,” he said.

“If the health center moved because they anticipated the funding I wouldn’t call it premature, but I guess people familiar with the legislative process know that nothing is over until the General Assembly adjourns,” said Cindy Huebner, Sen. Phil Rock’s press coordinator.

“If we do not get funded by the state we will do as much as we can with the resources that are available,” Williams said.

Williams said “it remains to be seen” from where those funds would come.

On May 17, the House of Representatives approved the bill including the amendment John Countryman (R-DeKalb) proposed requesting funds to remove the asbestos and replace it with other fireproofing.

The entire bill, however, stalled at the senate where all amendments were removed.

“Because they (the senate) refused to agree with the amendments we added to the bill it went into conference,” said Senate appropriations staff member Esperanza Carabello.

Because the house and senate disagree on the bill, the entire bill must be renegotiated in conference where house and senate members sit down to compromise, Carabello said.

“Right now the project is still being negotiated,” Huebner said. The bill returned to conference at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

The asbestos must be removed because it is in the airflow duct system. “In certain spots asbestos was sprayed in the air ducts” when the health center was built in 1967, said Rosemary Lane, director of the University Health Services.

“When they did the removal (from the center’s fourth floor) last year they found asbestos squirted around in places it shouldn’t have been,” Lane said.

“The asbestos was carelessly applied when the building was built,” Lane said.

The asbestos problem is aggravated by the building’s age. “The sprayed-on asbestos is aging. It’s losing its adhesiveness,” Williams said.

Williams said the health center’s problems with the dangerous fireproofing are unique because water is leaking through the building’s roof and a layer of asbestos.