Madison Square Garden Case Illustrates Paranoia Around Asbestos

(Nov. 29) -- The paranoia and outright government and corporate silliness that often surrounds even the most benign discussions involving asbestos too often add to the fear and distrust.

Take something simple like the Nov. 2 National Basketball Association game between the New York Knicks and the Orlando Magic, which was postponed when safety officials discovered that dusty debris had fallen from the ceiling onto some seats in Madison Square Garden.

The debris had reportedly come from workers cleaning near some asbestos-related materials in the attic above the arena's ceiling.

Tests first verified the presence of asbestos. But when repeated, nothing was detected, and the arena reopened two days later.

An industrial hygienist told AOL News that the debris came from Zonolite insulation, which contains vermiculite-tainted asbestos taken from the W.R. Grace & Co. mines in Libby, Mont., where more than 400 people have died from exposure to the particles.

However, a day later an environmental engineer said that what fell was a fireproofing called Monokote, which also contained Libby vermiculite. Both men agreed that it was installed more than 40 years ago; the modern version of the Garden was built in 1968 above the site of the old Penn Station.

Corporate correspondence and sales records used in various civil suits against Grace or other suppliers of construction products show that the Libby vermiculite was in both fireproofing and insulation used in the multipurpose indoor arena as well as the Twin Towers and other New York City structures.

Trying to pin down precisely what was falling from the ceiling was as circular as a carousel ride.

Officials at the Garden said the New York City Department of Environmental Protection has all the information. But repeated calls and e-mails to DEP spokesman Farrell Sklerov garnered no information on what was falling from the attic, and he turfed the simple question back to the Garden.

But Alysia Lew, the Garden's vice president for financial communications, again sent an earlier press comment insisting all was well, but she refused to answer anything about what was tested and how.

"It's just our policy not to answer anything else about this matter, and that's all we're going to say," she told AOL News.

Why not just answer the question?