During at least one asbestos removal project,officers were on duty while asbestos was beingripped from the ceiling directly above them, fourofficers have told The Crimson independently.Asbestos air-quality tests were also routinelyperformed while officers were working in thestation, they said.
Ralph G. Vetters '85, an organizer for theHarvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers,says dispatchers and communications personnel onduty during the asbestos removal were paidovertime wages to compensate for the "headache."
"It wasn't a pay-off or an attempt to hushanybody up," Vetters says. "It was a highlyrespectful thing to do."
But Murphy, the acting chief of the Harvardpolice, said last night that department employeeswere not paid overtime wages during the asbestosremoval. They received the extra pay, he said,during a later period when contractors inspectingthe building were "banging at the walls."
Health experts consulted by The Crimson saythat removal while on duty increases the healthrisk posed by the asbestos. The overall riskdepends on the precautions taken as well as theamount of asbestos removed.
"There were some studies conducted by theEnvironmental Protection Agency of asbestos intile or lucite," says John D. Spengler, professorof Environmental Health at the School of PublicHealth. "It was found that these processesproduced pretty big clumps--big particles--ofasbestos. They don't stay in the air very long,and don't tend to be a major health problem."
Officials at Harvard's Environmental Health andSafety office and Harvard Real Estate who arefamiliar with the process have referred allquestions to the University's news office. Thenews office has been unable to provide details andevidence of University safeguards and testing.
Both sides in the growing dispute over workconditions in the police department seem tosupport further renovations and asbestos removal.
And the health experts say there's nothingwrong with further investigation. "We're about tolaunch a big study on asbestos," says Spengler."We actually have to do some pilot studying, andmaybe this is a good place to do some testing."
Of course, removal and study cost money. Thereport says removing contaminated asbestos fromthe building would cost more than $51,000. That'sa lot of money, but still less than the reported$55,000 spent by one of Harvard's river houses tobuy new furniture.
"You've been there. You've seen it," says onedepartment source. "That place is not in greatshape."