On Aug. 12, MSU Denver and the Auraria Higher Education Center will give the people of the Auraria Campus and Denver community what they’ve been waiting for — results from the West Classroom inspection.

The town hall will take place in the King Center Concert Hall, and will be the first time the university and campus publicly address the matter since an initial town hall July 25.

“We are responsible for making sure when students, faculty and staff show up for work or to learn, the classroom environment is ready to welcome them and the campus is here to support that academic mission,” said Blaine Nickeson, chief of safety and communications for AHEC.

MSU Denver and AHEC have been relatively mum on the matter since launching an investigation into potential contaminants in the West Classroom building July 31. The two entities received testing results Thursday and will spend time dissecting and understanding the information before Monday’s town hall. MSU Denver and AHEC declined to disclose who was hired for the testing.

The bells rang when the school learned that four faculty members who had occupied an office suite on the second floor of West Classroom had been diagnosed with varying forms of cancer. One of them died in 2016. After the July 25 town hall, a former administrator told Colorado Public Radio that they knew of at least eight more people who had been diagnosed with cancer and either worked in West or the adjacent Central Classroom building.

“Those reported cases and others are being shared with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s state cancer registry, which maintains more comprehensive data around reporting,” wrote university spokesperson Matt Watson in an email to The Metropolitan.

Nickeson said inspectors tested for radon, ionizing radiation, heavy metals and volatile organic compounds. These tests were done by using small devices to collect a finite air supply over a limited amount of time.

‘SGA should have been notified’

MSU Denver was in a relatively new situation July 25. A school that had been trying to erase its projected 6% decline in fall enrollment at the start of July had suddenly found itself thrust into the local media limelight with a larger crisis — a frequently used classroom and office building perceived as dangerous. But, while the university and AHEC hunkered down during the initial media storm, students were left clueless.

MSU Denver Dean of Students Braelin Pantel sent an email to all summer-enrolled students after the town hall notifying them of the situation, but with light shining on the university, students felt left in the dark.

“I was angry that people warned Metro and they didn’t look into it sooner,” said second-year MSU Denver student Daniel Jenkins. “I hoped a PSA would have come out on what’s happening and why they are concerned sooner.”

The Denver Post, Fox31 and Denver7 all reported on the first town hall after The Metropolitan broke the story July 24. Faculty and staff had received the initial notice, but no one else. Even those students highest on the university’s totem pole — SGA President Danielle Holmes and Vice President Braeden Weart — found out via local news.

“Danielle actually found out and sent me an article, and then that was the day before the town hall and (it) said something like, ‘Did you hear this?’ ” Weart said. “Say we sent out an email and the email was just, ‘Hey, there’s concern for West Classroom.’ Like, what else would we say on that email?”

Holmes declined to make a formal comment but did mention that SGA should have been notified. In response, MSU Denver spokesperson Tim Carroll wrote that the team has “recognized areas of improvement in terms of communication with SGA.” He also noted that Pantel has since been in contact with SGA.

Larry Sampler, MSU Denver chief operating officer, and AHEC Chief Executive Officer Colleen Walker reiterated in the first town hall that the investigation was geared toward calming public concern rather than legitimate fear of a serious health risk. And that seems to be the case.

Asbestos? ‘That’s not the case here’

The Auraria Campus has a history with the pesky, fatal mineral called asbestos. In 2010, the West Classroom building was partially shut down during renovations due to asbestos abatement. The same thing happened to the P.E. building and Events Center in 2016, and the P.E. building locker rooms in April.

When Sampler and Walker sat down in their cushioned chairs in front of concerned students, staff, faculty and curious media on July 25, asbestos didn’t seem to be out of the question. Since then, it seems more likely that it is an entire country away from the burning question, “Did faculty get cancer from their work environment?”

Given the age of the buildings on campus, it’s likely that most of them have asbestos. However, it’s important to note that the mineral isn’t dangerous on its own. It’s when asbestos is disturbed, and its particles are released into the air, that issues arise. These particles easily enter the body, often causing mesothelioma — incurable cancer that lines the lungs. The formula for the disease, according to National Jewish Hospital pulmonary specialist Cecile Rose, is a combination of exposure and time.

“If there were two cases of mesothelioma, or even one, then it would be cause for concern,” Rose said. “But that’s not the case here.”

A Denverite article explored the industrial history of Auraria that could cause environmental concerns. The article notes that because there were varying forms of cancer reported, “it’s very unlikely that the cases are related.” At what was once the intersection of 10th and Wynkoop streets, a stone’s throw away from West, a company made rat poison.

And what is now known as the Auraria Campus was once home to a pickle factory and the cylinder gas division of the Chemetron Corp. The area was also once home to industrial welding and auto shops, which the article mentions are considered to be legacy polluters. Denver has its history with people being hurt from 20th century pollution, such as Elyria-Swansea’s long documented fight with the Colorado Department of Transportation over the Central-70 project, but there’s little evidence to suggest that the state’s environmentally careless past in West is tearing into a healthy future for students, staff and faculty.

What now?

New student orientation is currently taking place for MSU Denver. As guides show tour groups the ins and outs of campus, one question looms in their minds, even larger than where their classes are, “Is this campus safe?” Sampler and Walker emphasized that no data shows the building as unsafe to occupy, and unless a bombshell drops on Monday, there’s little to suggest otherwise.

The second town hall is scheduled for 3 p.m. Monday, Aug. 12, in the King Center Concert Hall. Met Media will provide live updates and a story detailing the announcements afterward.

Additional reporting and video by Brady Pieper.

Correction: An earlier version of this story said that Monday’s town hall would be in the Recital Hall.