CHEYENNE -- Demolition work at the University of Wyoming scattered a material containing asbestos and might have exposed the public to the carcinogen, state officials said.

The project at the Bureau of Mines Building on the main campus in Laramie caused suspect materials to be "scattered all over the outside of the building where the public could be exposed," according to the violation notice issued Sept. 28 by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality.

The notice states the university failed to conduct an asbestos inspection, provide notification and remove a regulated asbestos-containing material before demolition.

The university also failed to use trained personnel to remove the material and didn't adequately wet it down or place it in leak-tight containers ahead of disposal, the notice states.

University spokeswoman Jessica Lowell declined to comment. The university's public affairs office is located in the Bureau of Mines Building in the northwest corner of campus.

It was unclear if any areas had been closed off because of the incident, whether cleanup had been completed, or if anyone on campus was exposed to asbestos.

Asbestos commonly was used as insulation in older buildings. Inhaling airborne asbestos fibers is believed to be a cause of lung cancer and a rare type of cancer called mesothelioma.

The university reported the incident to the environmental department on June 23.

David Finley, administrator of the department's Air Quality Division, called the incident a serious matter in a Sept. 28 letter to the university's facilities engineering manager, Frank Burrows.

"I am considering recommending that the department refer this violation to the state Attorney General's Office requesting that a suit be filed in District Court to recover appropriate penalties," the letter said.

The Department of Environmental Quality inspected the site June 24, and the university told the department it would have the material cleaned up by June 26, department spokesman Keith Guille said.

Normal procedures don't call for the department to verify whether cleanup has occurred, he said.

"We weren't on site to oversee the cleanup," Guille said. "What they were required to do was give us notification that they'll be doing cleanup of the suspected materials."

Guille said department and university officials plan to meet to discuss the incident.