Lake County government offices in Waukegan that closed early on Friday will be open on Monday following air testing that showed no findings of asbestos contamination and safe levels for the affected area.  

The County’s licensed asbestos abatement contractor worked Friday and Saturday to clean the affected area and test the air.  In an abundance of caution, the County closed some offices early Friday following the discovery of tiles containing asbestos that were disturbed after a large piece of printing equipment was moved. The closures impacted about 100 employees in the basement of the County’s Administration Building, Treasurer’s Office and County Clerk’s Office.  Other areas in the building were not affected as they’re not connected to the same air handler.

According to the County’s contractor, a disturbance of floor tiles poses a very low health risk to building occupants. Floor tiles are non-friable material, which means they cannot be crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder by hand pressure and thus less likely to release measurable levels of asbestos into the airborne environment when disturbed.  

The health and safety of our employees, residents, and visitors to our buildings is our top priority.