Asbestos Abatement Slows Opening of US Olympic Committee Headquarters

Tuesday May 5, 2009

The new headquarters for the U.S. Olympic Committee were set to be completed on July 30 of this year. However, because of the discovery of asbestos in the two-story building, the headquarters will not be ready for move-in until September. The headquarters were set to be constructed in Colorado Springs, but the construction has been delayed by nearly two months. This is because there is a fear that site workers will be exposed to the material, which has been proven to cause mesothelioma, a form of deadly cancer. When asbestos is breathed in, it can get trapped in the lungs.

Before construction can continue, the asbestos must be removed by a team of specialists. An article on asbestos.com had the following to say about the incident: “Christopher Dann, spokesman for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Air Pollution Control Division said serious concerns have surfaced during the abatement. Dann noted that the containment of asbestos was inadequate and asbestos was disturbed by a demolition worker in an area that was supposed to be clean.”

The site managers are now taking every precaution to ensure that their workers are safe and that the building will be ready for occupation in September of this year.