> >http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/ashome.html
>
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> air seal, workers have to wear disposable suits and breathing masks. All materials have to
> packaged and disposed of in an approved hazardous waste facility.
I live 200 yards from a 500,000-square-foot mill that closed in the 80s.
A man in this town travels long distances under contract to remove
asbestos. He said removing the asbestos from that building would be costly.
A developer bought the building a couple of years ago. This summer it
caught fire several times over a period of two weeks. The newspaper
noted that the building was not insured. Each time, the fire became
evident about midnight. The fires required several departments and a
lot of water.
Our fire chief said it was arson. It was attributed to teens. We've
had no other problems with arson. With neighbors on alert, I wonder how
teens could keep sneaking in.
If a building burns, does that excuse the owner from EPA regulations
regarding the disposal of asbestos? Could these fires cause lung
problems for firefighters and people living in the area?
Mrs Bonk - 23 Sep 2005 23:12 GMT
>>> http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/ashome.html
>>
[quoted text clipped - 34 lines]
> regarding the disposal of asbestos? Could these fires cause lung
> problems for firefighters and people living in the area?
Yes, it could cause problems.
Didn't the fire brigade have the air tested in the area? Where is the
remaining asbestos? That will have to be safely removed fire or not.
200 yards you say? I hope you kept your windows and doors shut and wore a
mask until the dust settled.
Michael A. Ball - 25 Sep 2005 14:40 GMT
>I live 200 yards from a 500,000-square-foot mill that closed in the 80s.
> A man in this town travels long distances under contract to remove
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
>regarding the disposal of asbestos? Could these fires cause lung
>problems for firefighters and people living in the area?
One of the properties that makes asbestos so difficult to manage is that the mineral
fibers are very tiny and very light. I don't remember the settling rate, but even in a
room with no circulation, the fibers remain suspended for a very long time. It's almost as
though gravity has no effect on asbestos.
I'm sure the fire marshal there has put two and two together. The new developer is trying
to avoid the great expense of asbestos abatement. Because asbestos is so heat resistant,
the ordinary fire will not destroy the asbestos; but the heat and the water sprays will
create air currents that will spread the fibers around. Are asbestos fibers always
released by a fire? No: unless there is a structural distortion, sufficient to break the
asbestos protective coating, no fibers will be released. Asbestos has nearly zero
structural strength; so, it is always wrapped or coated by a binder. If that binder
remains intact, the asbestos remains confined.
Teens are incredibly resourceful--when it is to their benefit. Remember? :-) I just wonder
how much they were being paid to set the fires.
Firefighters breath compressed air (Not oxygen as some folks think). Their face masks are
under positive pressure; so, toxins aren't allowed in.
Burning a building will not relieve the owner of his responsibility to adhere to EPA
guidelines. If the presence of asbestos was known to the new developer, I doubt that he
can recover a penny of the abatement expense from the former owner. After all, there was
no intent to defraud, and the asbestos hazard was disclosed.
If there is any sort of community organization there, this abandoned factory, and the
asbestos threat, should be discussed. And don't forget about other toxins that factory
might has introduced to the ground.
You have to love the sound of the line, more than you love the sound of your own drum.--Drumline