Edison, New Jersey – Remnants of Camp Kilmer, a now-closed military installation that was built during World War II, are being demolished at the Edison Job Corps Academy in New Jersey. There are half a dozen buildings in the cluster.

Job Corps is a federally-funded program that is administered by the Department of Labor. The program provides disadvantaged people aged 16 to 24 with residential academic and vocational training. Currently the Edison Job Corps Academy has around 530 students.

Lee Mathews, director of the Edison Job Corps Academy, said the buildings are in very poor shape, “It was either we tear them down, or they would fall down on their own.” Matthews said the buildings include an old trailer, a storage building, and old barracks that have long been boarded up unused.

Demolition of the buildings began on Wednesday April 23 and is proceeding cautiously due to the presence of asbestos insulation in some of the buildings. Lee Mathews expects the demolition to take around a week. The space will be turned into a recreational area once the demolition is completed.

Job Corps students who are learning construction trades will be helping build the recreation area once the demolition is complete. Plans include the addition of an outdoor volleyball court, seating areas, and a running track.

According to Lee Mathews, the demolition is a federal government project due to the presence of asbestos insulation in many buildings on campus. Strict environmental and public safety procedures have been put in place to make sure people aren’t exposed to asbestos. Most of the buildings being demolished contained only a small amount of asbestos, said Mathews, and some didn’t contain any.

Requirements for the project included hiring a professional asbestos abatement firm to remove asbestos prior to the demolition. Wet-removal procedures, in which asbestos containing materials are thoroughly wetted before being disturbed, are being carried out to reduce the possibility of generating asbestos dust.

Asbestos is a fibrous mineral that was used liberally in construction in the twentieth century due to its excellence as an insulator.

However, because asbestos is known to cause a type of cancer called mesothelioma, as well as other types of cancer and a chronic lung disease known as asbestosis, any procedures that involve working with or around asbestos must be tightly controlled to prevent exposure to the substance.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 5th, 2008 at 2:44 pm and is filed under Asbestos Abatement, New Jersey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.