Demolition of buildings in preparation for construction of NIU’s parking facility will be more complicated than originally planned.

Surveys of buildings were made to determine if there was enough asbestos containing material in them to be abated.

The buildings which were surveyed include The Northern Star, U.S. Geological Survey, Jensen Apartment Offices, NIU Black Studies and the University Honors Program.

Preliminary reports show abatement is needed in the Jensen Apartment Offices.

“We only have preliminary reports on findings, so we don’t know how much the abatement will cost,” Perkins said.

The parking facility will be constructed south of Founders Memorial Library where several buildings are located.

Patricia Perkins, assistant to the vice president of Finance and Planning, said the cost for the asbestos abatement is included in the $8.9 million budgeted for the parking facility.

“There is a small amount, which is under $100,000, set aside for asbestos removal,” Perkins said. “It appears, given the preliminary findings, that the asbestos removal and building demolition is in the budget.”

NIU industrial hygienist James Nelson said the surveys were in compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants, which is a set of regulations for the building, renovation or demolition of buildings.

“What the surveys look for is Regulated Asbestos Containing Material (RACM),” Nelson said.

“Any material with a reading where the percentage is greater than one percent is considered RACM,” he said. “Any RACM which is found must be removed according to law.”

Hygieneering Inc. was the first of two companies to conduct a survey, which found readings to be between one and three percent, which constitutes RACM.

The RACM was in The Northern Star building and the U.S. Geological Survey building.

“What we found was a borderline analytical result, and we wanted to be sure of our findings,” Nelson said.

“The sampling method originally employed sampled a specific layer of material,” Nelson said. “A recently-rendered interpretation from the EPA allowed us to sample layers as a composite.”

“When the sampling was done according to the EPA’s interpretation, the reading was in the safe level,” he said.

Parkland Laboratories was the second company to conduct surveys and their findings confirmed the readings to be less than one percent.

“Asbestos abatement for the two extra buildings carried large financial implications, so we wanted to be sure of the findings,” Nelson said.

“Proposals for the designing and supervising of the abatement are being prepared by Hygieneering Inc. and Parkland Laboratories,” he said.

Nelson said the asbestos abatement will not significantly delay the construction of the parking facility.