NEW LONDON, Conn. - Tenants at the Villa Apartments in New London are facing a bleak Christmas, thanks to the discovery of high levels of asbestos in the apartment complex. Eleven families were informed the week before Christmas that they must vacate their apartments by January 7th.

The eleven families were given just three weeks to move. They were informed of the decision by city inspectors during a closed door meeting last Thursday night.

Tenant Sharon Blink said that she was shocked at getting only three weeks’ notice to find a different house of a shelter in which to live while asbestos abatement takes place.

According to city officials, the landlord was making repairs to the heating system, which had failed earlier in the month, and unwittingly removed some pipes containing asbestos. The building is now contaminated with asbestos fibers.

Because he was not actually removing the boiler, the building owner didn’t think he needed any permits to do the work. The pipes for the heating system, however, date to the 1930s, and are insulated with and contain asbestos. Said former complex manager Sandy Kurth, “I think that caused the problem.”

City inspectors say that the building needs to be vacated and should remain empty of 30 to 60 days to allow for cleaning. After that, residents are free to return if they desire. Tenants will also need to arrange for decontamination for their clothing, furniture and other personal possessions.

The Connecticut apartment building isn’t the only one to run into asbestos problems related to an old heating system this holiday season. Tenants in a Winnipeg apartment block spent a cold Christmas - and have been cold since the building’s boiler broke down two weeks ago. Tenants are using antique fireplaces and electric heaters, as well as their stoves and ovens, to heat their apartments.

The problem is that repair crews working on the boiler have had to hold off working on the repairs while asbestos is removed from the building. The repair crews hope to have the heat back up by Friday.

Many government and safety officials are concerned about this sort of incident becoming more commonplace as older boilers start to fail and need to be replaced on an emergency basis. Asbestos was commonly used for plumbing and heating pipes, insulation and many other uses in construction from the late 1800s through about 1980. Because of its high insulating properties, asbestos was most often used to insulate heating pipes, heating ducts and boilers. Plumbers and heating repair workers face a hazardous situation when dealing with older heating systems.

The two apartment buildings noted are in widely different locations, but the situation faced by the tenants and building owners is virtually the same - an older boiler that fails leading to the discovery of asbestos in the materials used to insulate the boiler or in the heating system itself. At that point, the building owner faces the problem of having to abate the asbestos before repairing the boiler, leading to evacuation for building tenants, or days without heat.

If the building owner goes ahead and does the work without contracting a licenses asbestos firm to contain the area first, the tenants could be exposed to deadly asbestos fibers which heighten the risk of their developing asbestosis, mesothelioma or other lung problems in the future.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 31st, 2007 at 8:01 pm and is filed under Asbestos Exposure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.