Houston, Texas – Last week, the elderly tenants of Bellerive Apartments in Houston, Texas discovered that their possessions had been severely damaged following the fire that left them homeless shortly after Thanksgiving 2007.

The fire was caused by a candle that had been left burning in a fifth-floor apartment. No residents were seriously hurt in the blaze, but tenants are distraught over the news that their landlord—the Houston Housing Authority—says that clothing and personal possessions that tenants were forced to leave behind may be contaminated with asbestos.

A total of 61 of the 210 apartments are affected by asbestos contamination. The hazardous mineral was spread throughout almost a third of the apartments during the fire and subsequent fire-fighting activities.

However, the HHA now says it doesn’t have the money to clean up all the contaminated items. Certain porous types of items such as clothing and upholstery will be too expensive.

Repair work on the building is scheduled to being shortly. The former Bellerive tenants want to retrieve their items, but have been told their belongings will be destroyed if they do not arrange for clean-up before repair begins. HHA has told some of the tenants they must pay for the clean-up themselves due to the cost of cleaning porous items.

HHA vice president of external affairs Regina Woolfolk says the agency will pay for the clean-up of non-porous items, but its insurance won’t cover the cost of cleaning porous items.

On Tuesday, Mayor Bill White said that the tenant should be allowed to retrieve their personal items as long as they don’t hold the HHA responsible for asbestos contamination.

The Mayor also urged the HHA to delay destroying tenants’ belongings until the city has had time to find a solution.

A suggestion that the tenants sign a legal waiver that would allow them to retrieve their belongings has met with favor from Kim Setzo, the leader of a social service agency that is working with the former Bellerive residents. She believes most tenants would be willing to sign the waiver.

President and owner of DSM Environmental Services Joe Rafferty said that a review of the asbestos contamination levels in the building indicates that only two apartments require expensive asbestos removal procedures.

However, Horace Allison, senior vice president of the HHA, disagrees that asbestos contamination is a problem only in those two apartments, saying “having ‘some’ asbestos is like being a little bit pregnant.”

Repairs begin on the building this week, and some tenants will be able to move back home during the summer. Those in the more seriously damaged areas of the building will be able to move back in the fall.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 8th, 2008 at 2:19 pm and is filed under Asbestos Exposure, Texas. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.