OKLAHOMA CAPITOL—Oklahoma Department of Human Services operations in the Tulsa County J. Howard Edmondson building located at 444 S. Houston Ave. will be relocated to two other Tulsa County OKDHS offices following the discovery of asbestos in the Edmondson building.
Shortly after noon Tuesday, Oklahoma Department of Central Services workers doing routine maintenance in the building discovered the floor tiles they were removing contained asbestos.
DCS recommended evacuation of the Edmondson building. Approximately 300 OKDHS employees and all visitors were safely evacuated by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
OKDHS is working to reroute telephone lines for the Edmondson office and establish operations at two alternate locations in Tulsa County: 3666 N. Peoria Ave. and 6128 E. 38th St. Clients with questions about OKDHS programs and services may continue to use the Edmondson office telephone numbers. Signage is also being placed at the affected office, directing clients to the alternate locations.
It is expected to take several days for Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality to assess the 90,000 square foot building and determine what action will be taken to bring the building back up to code. In the meantime, OKDHS staff will be reassigned to other locations to assist with client services, allowed to telecommute where possible or perform field work until the situation is resolved.
Services at the Edmondson location include: child care, Food Stamps and child welfare. It is estimated that thousands of people visit the Edmondson office building on a daily basis.
OKDHS will post updates on its Web site at: http://www.okdhs.org.
