Pikes Peak Library District to install restroom sensors in wake of recent meth contamination
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- As officials with the Pikes Peak Library District cope with the recent discovery of some restrooms contaminated with the illegal drug methamphetamine, plans are going forward to install sensors in each of its 53 public restrooms at 16 libraries.
Officials said that the devices, called environmental sensors, will immediately alert them if a restroom has a higher-than-usual level of meth or some other substance; officials will then send security or other staff to the scene.
Security and related staff also will receive training on dealing with such situations, officials said.
Meanwhile, officials repeated Monday that the library's downtown Penrose branch -- which was closed for the weekend because of the contamination -- likely will remain closed through this week.
Officials said that their consultant in the matter, KEMWest Inc., found meth levels above the maximum threshold in several Penrose restrooms; one restroom at the East branch remains closed because of similarly high contamination.
The contamination was discovered through initial screenings by the consultant; officials said that the next step is to perform more extensive testing in and around the affected restrooms to determine specific areas of contamination and clean them up.
Officials said that they believe the contamination is residue from people smoking meth.
"Is the residue on the walls, in the ceiling, in the sinks, on the floors -- that's what we need to find out, and that determines how we clean it up," said Teona Shainidze Krebs, the district's interim chief librarian and CEO. "We'll understand whether regular cleaning by janitors can remove it, or of more specialized cleaning is needed."
The PPLD provided no schedule or timetable for testing, cleanup, or the installation of sensors.
The final affected branch, 21C, has remained open, and all restrooms there are considered safe for the public.
Officials said that they screened the three affected libraries because they are the district's busiest, and they see no need at present to conduct screenings at its other libraries.
"The affected libraries are safe for the public once we resolve the meth situation," Krebs said.
The closure of the Penrose branch disappoints patrons who use it often.
"I can handle going to another library for a while, but I'll have to order the books from a different place because I need to get to them," said Nathan Bower, who walks a mile to the branch almost daily. "So, not convenient."
The closure also affects people experiencing homelessness because the branch is a popular gathering place for them.
"If it's not open, there's no way that people can access extra resources," said Osiris Ravenwind, homeless for the past year. "Some people don't have phones, they need computers for the Internet, they can't contact their family."
