Photo by Lester Smith
A collector stands in the north end of the upper level of Kent Memorial Library, one of the several regions of the building that were partially isolated with plastic sheeting for the new air tests that started on November 14. The intent is to determine the source of airborne PCB contamination revealed last spring. (This photo was taken in the evening, through the western north window.)
After a period of apparent quietude at the Kent Memorial Library while the way was cleared for new air contamination tests, the tests, planned several months ago, began on November 14. The tests were delayed because of the imbalance among various air ducts discovered when the new HVAC system was tested last spring. Only partial improvement in this imbalance was achievable, so the design requirements were modified to meet what was possible. It took a while to get the required approvals for this modification, but approval was received in October, and now the air contamination tests could begin.
In an attempt to determine the source of the PCB discovered in the building’s atmosphere last spring, several regions of the building have been partially sealed off with plastic sheeting. They can’t be completely isolated, because the inlet air ducts are scattered generally around the perimeter, and the air is exhausted back to the fans in the mechanical room through a large central duct system. So the sheeting was installed with limited open spaces for the air to escape the test rooms.
Test results won’t be forthcoming immediately, as evaluating the collection filters is a lengthy procedure. But the Permanent Building Commission hopes that the results will point to a remediation program, for which some preliminary planning has already been done, based on possible outcomes of the tests. As the Observer has reported in previous months, the source of funds for the needed remediation is unclear.
And plans for where the temporary library will be located in the new year are also unclear. Town Hall planning must come first.
When the Kent Memorial Library, with its updated electrical and mechanical systems and new, accessible entrance, does open – and one trusts it will – the auditorium and the historical room will probably not be open at first. The auditorium was lately discovered to have its own accessibility and safe evacuation issues, which have not yet been resolved, even on paper. And the plans for improving the facilities of the historical room, which had been laid out in sketches two years ago by Library Director Jackie Hemond and her office equipment supplier, have not yet been rendered in the kind of drawings that are needed by contemporary officialdom. Patientia Requiritur.