DENVER– A letter sent to Metropolitan State University employees on Wednesday outlines a health investigation in the West Classroom of the Auraria Higher Education Center.
The investigation comes after four employees were recently diagnosed with three different types of cancer in the same immediate office area in the West Classroom.
Part of the letter explains that testing is underway at the campus out of an abundance of caution.
“Out of an abundance of caution, AHEC and MSU Denver are seeking to address concerns of employees that these cancers may have been caused by their work environment. Testing in these areas of concern is occurring and we should have results by Aug. 8. These independent evaluations will each include a Certified Industrial Hygienist to review the findings, benchmarking against Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards. Once these results are available, we will communicate with the University community.”
During the town hall meeting on Thursday, a faculty member said he was told on day one to be cautious when hanging things on the walls because of asbestos.
According to the student newspaper In 2010, remodeling revealed is asbestos in West Classroom.
According to the letter sent to employees, the West Classroom has been cleared of asbestos, but the campus has a recent history with the dangerous mineral.
The student newspaper also reports that in 2016, the P.E. building was closed due to asbestos. Then in April 2019, the locker rooms were closed due to asbestos.
We have reached out to MSU to confirm the information in the student newspaper and will update this story when we hear back from them.