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Meth pollution shuts down Colorado library

ENGLWOOD, Co. –

For the second time in a month, a Colorado library closed to clean up methamphetamine contamination.

City spokesman Chris Harguth said officials in the Denver suburb of Englewood shut down the city library last week within hours of receiving Wednesday test results showing contamination levels. in the facility’s restrooms exceeded the state’s allowable threshold.

He said other spaces such as countertops also tested positive for lower drug concentrations and would require specialized cleaning. Larger remediation work will include removal of contaminated surfaces, walls, ducts and exhaust fan equipment.

Harguth said the city of about 33,000 south of Denver decided to test the drug after officials in the nearby university town of Boulder shut down its main library after detecting meth contamination.

This is the latest example of the balancing act urban libraries must navigate between making their facilities welcoming to all while keeping them clean and safe. When a series of drug overdoses in libraries were reported in the mid-2010s as the opioid crisis intensified across the United States, some libraries were armed with the antidote Naloxone, known for its antidote. brand name Narcan.

So far, it appears that library closures due to methamphetamine contamination are limited to Colorado, according to spokesman Raymond Garcia of the American Library Association, which is not aware of any happening in those places. across the country in recent years. The team declined to comment on whether drug use has increased in libraries, citing a lack of up-to-date data.

Health officials say meth residue can be irritating, causing symptoms such as an itchy throat, runny nose and bloodshot eyes. However, secondary exposure is not thought to cause chronic, long-term health concerns, Harguth said.

Library director Christina Underhill said drug use was uncommon at the Englewood library, but reports of it had increased in recent months as colder weather prompted more people to seek shelter in the area. that, only a few of them use. More broadly, the library has attracted more homeless people since fully reopening after closing at the beginning of the pandemic.

“We’re very accommodating,” Underhill said. But “there are a number of individuals who abuse this space and unfortunately put us in this position.”

Brenda Folsom, who was picking up her grandchildren from school near Englewood’s library on Thursday, said she has seen an increase in drug use in the area over the past two years, particularly at the local park. her side. She’s concerned her 3- and 8-year-old grandsons, kids who go to the library with their dad, and other curious kids might pick up needles and other drug paraphernalia in her bathroom. .

“I think if they cleaned their restrooms a little more or paid attention to the restroom and the furniture or the people that go into it, they wouldn’t have this problem,” Folsom said. In her view, the library should have better security and check the facilities more often.

Boulder officials attributed the closure of their city library last month to the state’s strict rules about cleaning up meth after testing showed it. They also point out that acceptable levels of meth pollution standards have been developed with a view to homes, where exposure is more likely to be frequent than in public buildings.

Colorado’s rules are “some of the most conservative in the nation, using extreme caution to protect infants and children from exposure,” the city said in a statement May 28. twelfth.

Spokeswoman Annie Elliott said the Boulder library had reopened, but its bathrooms remained closed as staff performed decontamination work including replacing fans and vents. Once completed, the bathrooms will remain locked and anyone who needs to use them will have to ask a staff member or security guard for permission to enter.

Englewood Library has made a number of changes to help the homeless get there. According to Underhill, an outreach team arrives every Monday to provide services such as help with identification, food stamps and housing.

However, after some library users said they didn’t feel safe, the city hired security guards last year, she said. It also establishes a code of conduct with the aim of making it possible for librarians to enforce the rules.

Englewood also recently increased funding to add more staff in the hope of stopping drug use, according to the library’s website.

“The use of the library has changed,” Underhill said. “More and more people are coming to use it as a shelter.”



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