Three people who have spent long periods of time in a specific room in Nasatir Hall have died after being diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme brain cancer, according to faculty members who work in the building.
A 69-year-old professor died in the summer of last year and a 49-year-old professor died in 1993, both of whom taught at San Diego State. At different times, both professors had an office in Nasatir Hall room 131. More recently, a 26-year-old graduate student who is believed to have spent time working in the same room died on Oct. 11, 2008.
A fourth professor, who is now retired, is currently surviving a different type of brain cancer called primary brain lymphoma. The professor, who was diagnosed in his mid 60s about five years ago, had an office next to NH 131 on the same side of the building.
During a political science department meeting on Feb. 27, some faculty questioned whether or not the deaths were in some way related to environmental factors.
Political science Associate Professor Farid Abdel-Nour said he thinks the main concern is finding out if there is a reason to be worried and if there is a high incidence of brain cancer, statistically.
“We don’t want to raise alarm, we are just asking questions,” Abdel-Nour said.
These concerns come at a time when a $55 million state-funded project to completely renovate both Storm and Nasatir Halls was slated to begin in the fall.
Abdel-Nour said it seems it would be worth investigating what might be potential causes, especially because of the possible renovation.
“If the causes are chemical and they have to remove materials that are used in the building, then in the renovation, presumably these causes will disappear,” Abdel-Nour said. “If the causes are not of that nature, if they are of a physical type, meaning something like a form of radiation or a form of electromagnetic radiation that emanates from some source or another in the environment, then renovating the building will not change anything.”
Because of California’s budget problems, all state-funded construction projects were halted, according to a letter Chancellor Charles B. Reed sent out to all California State University employees in January. This included school construction projects such as renovating the two three-story buildings that were built in 1957.
Still, Lauren Cooper, the interim director of Facilities Planning Design & Construction, said the department has been planning the project for five to six years and that “within the CSU, this project is high on the priority list.”
“Any time the campus has an opportunity to provide new or renovate an existing facility, the project helps to provide more modern facilities for our students,” Cooper said last week. “In addition, projects enable more smart classrooms and offer an opportunity to upgrade building systems to provide more sustainable environmental systems.”
If the campus is notified that the project is going to be funded, departments will likely be relocated over the summer, Cooper said. However, SDSU director of media relations and new media, Greg Block, said on Friday that the project has been postponed.
Political science associate professor Carole Kennedy said she was aware that Nasatir Hall has asbestos and wondered if it is a reason for the renovation.
Asbestos is also one of the many potential causes being questioned by faculty members.
“It is looking more and more likely that the project has been pushed up,” Kennedy said.
Storm and Nasatir halls do have asbestos, Block said. In fact, there are 43 buildings on campus that contain asbestos, he added.
Pursuant to the requirements of the California Health and Safety Code Section 25915, every year, SDSU employees are notified of the presence of asbestos-containing materials in campus buildings. However, faculty and staff members do not have to sign any disclosures stating they are aware of the asbestos, Block said.
Block said many of the buildings on campus are old and were built when asbestos was a common material used during construction projects.
“We keep very close tabs on any of our buildings with any sort of hazardous material,” Block said. “We proactively go out and inspect all of the 43 buildings that have any sort of asbestos in them.”
Regarding the planned construction, Block said, a Hazardous Material Report is put into drawings and designs of new buildings and that a full environmental survey of the construction site has already begun.
“The health and safety of our faculty and staff is a top priority,” Block said.
While asbestos is a concern, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry’s Web site, asbestos is primarily a cause of respiratory problems, not brain cancer.
It states on its Web site: “Although some evidence suggests that exposure to asbestos also increases the risk of nonrespiratory cancers, the evidence remains weak, compared to that of lung cancer and mesothelioma.”
Ron Tsuchiya, is the region nine (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Guam, Trust Territories, Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa) asbestos coordinator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“There’s really no link (between asbestos and brain cancer) that we can see at this time,” Tsuchiya said. “What happens is that when you breathe the asbestos fibers, they’re really microscopic, they go down deep in your lungs and then they get stuck there. So, we don’t know if they’re transported to the brain.”
Another concern that has been raised is the garbage disposal facility and machinery behind the West End Plaza at West Commons food court, which is also next to the Nasatir Hall corridor.
“All of this could just be coincidental, but we can’t help but want to ask,” Abdel-Nour said.
Faculty members at UC San Diego have expressed concern about the high incidence of cancer (breast cancer, not brain cancer) in a specific building.
“It seems to have to do something with the frequency of electromagnetic radiation associated with elevators in that building,” Abdel-Nour said. “Nasatir doesn’t have any elevators.”
Whether the four recent cases of cancer in Nasatir Hall are caused by environmental factors or not, faculty feel that they have a right to ask questions.
“We don’t have any proof and we are not accusing anybody of anything,” political science associate professor Lyndelle Fairlie said. “We are just raising questions.”
For a list of buildings that have asbestos, log onto www.thedailyaztec.com.
Deaths may be linked to Nasatir
Published: Monday, March 9, 2009
Updated: Monday, March 9, 2009
 "Photo: Karli Cadel / Staff Photographer")
Karli Cadel / Staff Photographer
Faculty members wonder if Nasatir Hall 131might be contaminated after three deaths.
 "Photo: Karli Cadel / Staff Photographer")
Karli Cadel / Staff Photographer
7 comments
Just get someone like Prof. Milham or Dr. Havas to come and do a survey for EMF's
http://www.leukaemia.org/what-we-do/fund-research/prevention-project/current-projects/318.
Asbestos sounds unlikely as it's usually a 40 year time span to develop a type of lung cancer.
On the other hand EMF's can lead to a rapid onset of many types of cancer.