A professor at Keene State College in Keene, New Hampshire will have to answer to charges related to the illegal dumping of asbestos waste on the college's campus. Professor Lourdes Ramirez-Crucellas has been indicted in Cheshire County Court. According to Mary Jensen, coordinator of sustainability programs and recycling for KSC, the illegally dumped asbestos was discovered by custodial staff. "I'm aware that there's illegal dumping that happens on campus from students. That's something I've been paying attention to more than anything," Jensen said.
All the fuss about the dumping incident is justified, as asbestos can be very dangerous. Asbestos exposure has been linked to the development of mesothelioma, a rare type of cancer that affects only a few thousand people in America each year. The disease is incurable, but chemotherapy and other treatments are available. The cancer is very aggressive, and can lead to death within mere months after being diagnosed.
"There are people who use the campus dumpsters as though they are their own. So our trash person, sometimes he recognizes when stuff doesn't look like it comes from the students and he pays attention to that because we've talked a lot about how many people bring their stuff to campus and dump it," Jensen added.
Measures have been taken by the college to diminish the amount of dumping on campus. "As a process here on campus, we've made it a little harder to get to dumpsters unless you live on campus," Jensen added. "We've seen a pretty significant drop in our waste dumping over the last five years as we've worked harder to make it harder for people to be able to bring their household rubbish onto campus. Somehow they think it's okay for the college to pay for their waste disposal."
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