BELLAIRE, Ohio – The contractor who is handling the demolition of a historic downtown building says that the EPA is wrong about asbestos in the building, and their mistake could add nearly $150,000 to the demolition costs.

On February 18, the EPA issued an order to halt demolition at the historic downtown Bellaire building because, they said, the building is riddled with asbestos, which must be removed before the rest of the building can be demolished.

The four story building caught fire and burned to a shell in December of 2007. The demolition originally began on January 23, and was expected to take 90 days and cost the small village $50,000. Contractor Nick Masciarelli knew from the start that the EPA would have to inspect the structure for the presence of asbestos and approve an abatement plan before the demolition could be completed. He and his crew intended to remove the top ten feet of the structure by hand, and then have the EPA inspect.

On February 18, Masciarelli’s work crews took off a front wall, and discovered what they thought was asbestos. Work was halted immediately and the EPA called. The agency confirmed the suspicion, and Masciarelli prepared to have the asbestos removed.

Asbestos, widely used in building construction before 1980, is often found in older buildings, and can become a problem during renovations and demolition because of the potential for asbestos fibers to become airborne. Asbestos dust is easily inhaled, but once it is in the body, it can cause serious health problems. While the effects of asbestos are not immediate, they can be devastating, and include lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis. For that reason, the EPA requires that buildings that contain asbestos must be handled with care and precautionary measures.

The precautionary measures include both handling of the asbestos while it is being removed and the eventual disposal of any materials that are contaminated with asbestos. Asbestos-containing materials and any debris that is contaminated with asbestos dust must be disposed of at special landfills that are licensed to deal with the contamination. That is where the issue lies for Masciarelli. The contractor claims that the EPA has overestimated the amount of asbestos in the building.

According to the EPA, the entire building is full of dangerous asbestos. Removing all of the tainted items and shipping them to a specialized landfill would quadruple the original cost estimate of demolishing the four story building. The original estimate was for $50,000 for the ninety day contract. Asbestos removal, if the EPA is right, could add an additional $150,000 to the cost of the job.

And according to Masciarelli, the EPA is wrong. The contractor brought in another independent hazardous waste testing firm to check up on the EPA’s findings. According to Masciarelli, the independent tests showed that the only asbestos concern in the building is the old boiler in the basement. Boilers and furnaces were often wrapped in asbestos coatings for insulation and fireproofing purposes.

If that’s the case, then the contractor can simply remove the boiler and dispose of it, then finish the demolition as planned. He has passed on his test findings to the EPA and is awaiting their ruling on the subject.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 31st, 2008 at 11:29 am and is filed under Asbestos Abatement, Ohio. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.