FORT CHAFFEE, Arkansas – Sebastian County officials now say that the cost of cleaning up the asbestos-contaminated debris from the fire that leveled the old Army barracks at Fort Chaffee and Fort Smith will probably cost far more than the $4 million originally estimated. Residents in the area are not in danger from the asbestos, however.

Late last month, a brush fire aided by high winds became a conflagration that destroyed about 150 structures at the abandoned Army installation, most of them unused barracks that the housing authority had been planning to demolish. Many of the buildings were known to be heavily contaminated with asbestos.

The barracks were built shortly after World War II when construction materials containing asbestos were widely used, and when many military construction contracts specified the use of materials that contained asbestos. Asbestos was viewed as safe at the time, and offered many advantages in construction. Since then, it has become public knowledge that asbestos fibers cause serious and debilitating illnesses when inhaled. The illnesses associated with asbestos include lung cancer and other cancers, asbestosis and mesothelioma, a rare cancer that is only found in those with a history of asbestos exposure.

The debris from last month’s fire is heavily contaminated with asbestos, according to tests carried out by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. Those tests found concentrations of asbestos in debris and ash gathered at the site ranging from 1 percent to 3 percent. Sebastian County’s Office of Emergency Management said that any concentration of more than 1 percent asbestos is considered contaminated. Asbestos-contaminated materials must be handled with special cautions to avoid asbestos fibers becoming airborne and presenting a health hazard to workers and the community.

The emergency management office also revealed the results of air quality tests carried out Saturday by Environmental Enterprise Group, Inc. at the 100 acre site. Those tests revealed airborne asbestos levels of less than .002 fibers per cubic centimeter, a level that is well below acceptable workplace levels of asbestos set out by OSHA.

Based on the results of those air monitoring tests and expert opinions from the Arkansas Department of Health, Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality and from EEG, Inc. the county believes that citizens who in the facilities around the debris site and residents of the air are safe.

However, Tonya Roberts from the Arkansas DEQ advises that people should stay away from the site because of ground contamination. While levels of airborne asbestos are within safety levels, activity on the site could stir up ground contamination and increase the amount of asbestos in the air.

The county has fenced off the air and has patrols on the property, but people are still being spotted on the site taking pictures and walking around the area.

Police warned that asbestos is not the only danger on the site. Because many of the chimneys remain standing after the fire, there is also the danger of injury from toppling structures and falling debris.
0fficials will share the figures from their research with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to determine whether disaster funds will be available to help with the cleanup of the hazardous wastes. Originally, county officials had speculated that cleanup could cost about $4 million. Now they say that figure is probably far too low.

Because the debris is considered contaminated with asbestos, it is a hazardous waste and can only be legally handled by a licensed contractor with workers trained and certified in clearing asbestos.
Roberts said disposing of normal construction debris costs about $ 30 per ton. Asbestos contamination could quadruple that cost, she said.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 20th, 2008 at 10:46 am and is filed under Arkansas, Asbestos Abatement. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.