Methods

In order to better understand the history and current condition of asbestos in Maine state buildings, the Maine State Employees Association (MSEA) issued a Freedom of Access Act (FOAA) request¹³ to the Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS). The request sought documentation of the Maine Cultural Building’s history with Asbestos including documentation of tests and surveys conducted, abatements performed, contractors hired, and correspondence with state DAFS officials. The response from the DAFS comprised more than 200 construction drawings and a diverse array of more than 140 documents involving asbestos in the Cultural Building. This latter group of documents evidences at least 30 distinct asbestos surveys and abatement projects occurring since 2000. For the purposes of this paper, the most relevant types of documents represented in the group are: building surveys; photo logs identifying asbestos containing materials; laboratory test results; contracts with abatement professionals; project reports describing recommendations of action for the BGS; and floor plans detailing the known location and condition of asbestos in the building.

The data from the FOAA was then supplemented with newspaper archival research. Articles from local Maine Newspapers from 1985-1987 expose a largely forgotten asbestos-ridden episode in the state library’s history which cost the state millions of dollars and caused the library to close its doors for over 17 months.

¹³ Pursuant to 1 M.R.S.A § 408