Des Moines, Iowa – The Mehringers, of Des Moine, Iowa, have their doubts about buying a home that was built on a former airport runway, but ultimately, they’re confident that the land is clean and non-toxic.

They knew when they bought the property that it was built on the former Stapleton International Airport site, and that the land was formerly contaminated with asbestos and chemicals, but say they believe it’s now clean.

They can’t help wondering, though. Mark Mehringer says, “With a cleanup like that, it’s to pretty high standards, but we do occasionally wonder about certain spots in the lawn where things don’t grow well.”

Researchers and planners say that the Mehringer’s experience isn’t unusual: people who buy property on reclaimed industrial land tend to believe that their homes are safe, despite their history.

There are plenty of examples of these types of developments. Former industrial sites are cleaned up and redeveloped as residential and commercial spaces.

In Atlanta, for example, a 130 acre development is planned to replace a former steel mill. The new development will include homes for ten thousand people, as well as entertainment venues and retail stores.

In O’Fallon, Missouri, a planned housing and retail complex will be built on a former trailer park that needs substantial cleaning to remove an estimated 34,000 tons of asbestos waste.

And this week, a couple in Minneapolis won a claim for compensation after the asbestos-containing remains of a bridge were discovered on their property: unbeknownst to them, the land they had bought was once the site of a construction materials landfill.

Some residents simply don’t know that their home has a toxic past. John and Judy McEachran had no idea their land was the former site of a landfill until contractors began digging the basement for the home they planned to build. At the time they purchased the lot, state law hadn’t required that the seller disclose that information to buyers.

Others, like the Mehringers, know the history but trust in the ability of planners and developers to clean up the site before developing it for human habitation.

However, given that the McEachrans have endured a four-year-long battle to claim compensation for the costs of cleaning up their property—to the tune of $150,000—it makes sense to find out the history of a property before you buy it.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 8th, 2008 at 4:56 pm and is filed under Asbestos Exposure, Iowa. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.