Officials shut down Boulder, Colorado’s main library recently after methamphetamine, an extremely addictive chemical substance, was found in bathroom air ducts.
More tests were performed to determine if the rest of the building was affected, and the preliminary results showed the substance was mainly found in the restroom areas, KUNC reported Thursday.
Results also showed there was some surface-level contamination that included seating areas.
In an update Wednesday, the City of Boulder said, “The restrooms and these seating areas will need to undergo professional remediation before they can be made accessible to the public,” then continued:
It is likely the impacted seating areas will be re-purposed for another use, with furniture that can be thoroughly cleaned on a regular basis. Consideration is being given to the level of restroom service the building will need in the future and how to ensure that no illegal activity occurs in these private and enclosed spaces. It is not yet clear if, and when, public restrooms will be brought back.
City leadership said their goal is to “reopen as much of the facility as possible as it is safe to do so,” adding they expected a full report and test results at least by December 30.
“As soon as this is available, the city and the health department will confer, determine a reasonable path forward, and develop phased remediation, re-opening, and ongoing cleaning plans,” the update read, noting the earliest the library may reopen its doors is on Tuesday.
The Main Library remains closed indefinitely. Staff will meet Tuesday, Dec. 27, to review meth contamination results and create clean-up plan. The branch libraries will re-open Monday, Dec. 26.
— BoulderPublicLibrary (@boulderlibrary) December 24, 2022
Methamphetamine is described as an addictive substance that affects a person’s central nervous system, according to WebMD.
“There is no legal use for methamphetamine. It is a manufactured substance that causes an immediate euphoric reaction,” the site read.
Drug use in the bathroom spaces is apparently on the rise, according to a CBS Colorado report from December 20:
“We had about 12 to 15 reported incidents in the past month,” city spokesperson, Sarah Huntley, told the outlet.
She added, “We want to obviously provide people with opportunities to deal with their biological needs with privacy and dignity, but we also have to strike a balance for folks who might choose to use those same spaces for illegal activities.”
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