DURANGO, Colorado – Barry Mason would like to comply with a letter he received from the city of Durango Friday, but says that asbestos issues may add months to his timeline for demolition of a building that he owns in the city.

Friday, Mason received a letter from the city demanding that he complete cleanup and demolition of his building, which was destroyed by fire, within ten days. The problem is, Mason says, that he hasn’t even been allowed inside the building yet. Among the issues to be addressed is the possible contamination of the debris by asbestos.

The building is one of three affected by a fire earlier this month. Mason is awaiting the results of asbestos testing at the site, which won’t be in until the end of this week. The letter demands that the cleanup be completed by March 10, with a possible extension to no later than Friday, March 14.

The letter received by Mason states, in part:

“The building you own has been found and declared unsafe as the result of the fire… The City’s codes require that you… take action to demolish the unsafe structure and clean up the property that you own.”

Mason immediately called Durango Planning Director Greg Hoch, who was able to alleviate his fears. According to Hoch, the letter was sent to Mason as a response to complaints from businesses on the 700 block of Main Avenue. Similar letters were sent to neighboring property owners, Barbara Fidanque and Fred Libby. The businesses complained that the closing of the sidewalk in front of the burned properties was hurting their businesses.

The city has received an appeal of the letter from Mason and concedes that the deadlines are unreasonable. Hoch said that the issue of asbestos is “really a big deal”, and that the results of asbestos testing won’t be in until the end of the week. The city Planning Director conceded that until those results are known, it’s impossible to judge a reasonable timeline for the cleanup and demolition.

Most older buildings were made with materials that contain asbestos. Asbestos is a hazardous air pollutant that causes serious health hazards. While it is generally considered safe as long as the materials that contain asbestos are in good repair, when asbestos containing materials are disturbed, broken or destroyed, asbestos fibers are released into the air. Once airborne, they can be inhaled by passers by and cause mesothelioma, a rare cancer, and other cancers and health conditions.

Because of the risks associated with airborne asbestos, federal law closely regulates demolition and cleanup of older buildings that may contain asbestos. In general, all materials that contain asbestos must be removed from a structure by a licensed contractor before the building is demolished. Fire debris can be especially difficult to deal with, because much of the debris is already disturbed. If it contains asbestos, the property owner must take precautions to reduce disturbance and contain the area while the materials is removed from the site. In addition, asbestos-containing materials can only be disposed of at licensed landfills that have the capacity to deal with asbestos.

Asbestos is only one concern for city officials. The process is complicated by the fact that many of the city sidewalks have hollow coal chutes directly beneath them and may not support demolition equipment. Hoch said that it is important to the city to reestablish good pedestrian flow on the sidewalk, but that will only happen when the structures are deemed to be safe by the city.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 17th, 2008 at 8:54 am and is filed under Asbestos Abatement, Colorado. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.