NJ library suddenly closes after disturbing discovery

If you were working in a building that was being renovated and they came across something that could potentially kill you, you might not be thrilled. Imagine what employees at one New Jersey library are feeling after what workers found in the floor.

At the Edison Public Library at 340 Plainfield Avenue, the second floor was undergoing some upgrades. That’s when contractors found tiles beneath the carpeting had been broken open. Now this building was built in 1963 and back then, asbestos was commonly used as a flame retardant.

Upon testing the broken tiles, sure enough they found asbestos. The big rule with asbestos is to keep it wrapped and don’t disturb it. The broken tiles sounded enough of an alarm bell that the whole place is being shut down for a two week period.

“For the record, the Library Board took immediate action when this potential hazard was discovered and did their due diligence,” the library’s director Allan Kleiman wrote in an email. “No one has been working on the upper level since it was under renovation.”

Of course, long-term workers may not feel comforted by that. According to nj.com, the carpet was replaced twice over the years with that original tile floor containing asbestos just beneath it.

It’s not known exactly when the asbestos was discovered but the renovations to that second floor began in May. Asbestos remediation work is set to begin on August 19. The lower level is set to have remediation work begin in January 2025. Possibly not soon enough for some nervous people who work there.

When inhaled, asbestos fibers become trapped in the body and those fibers cause diseases like mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer. According to the CDC, there were over 45,000 mesothelioma deaths in the U.S. between 1999 and 2015.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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