Aspen, Colorado - Risk is all part of the job for rescue crews, but exposure to asbestos is one risk that most crews don’t expect to encounter during the course of their work. For the law enforcement, fire, and ambulance crews that responded to an emergency at Aspen Middle School this week, asbestos exposure became a risk.

The incident involved Denver man Juan Ruiz, who was killed in a construction site accident at the school. Ruiz was part of a demolition crew that was removing vermiculite from the school.

When the accident call went out, sheriff’s deputies, police officers, ambulance and fire crews responded.

Rescuers who were trying to locate Ruiz-who had been crushed by a free-standing cinder-block wall-had to enter an isolated construction zone where work crews were removing asbestos-contaminated vermiculite.

Pitkin County Sheriff’s Investigator Ron Ryan said that the responding crews had already entered the potentially contaminated area before they noticed that construction workers were wearing respirators and protective clothing. Aspen officer Joe Holman said “The guys in paper suits and aspirators surprised us, but once you’re in it, you’re in it.”

However, Ryan said that rescue workers were aware that the danger of asbestos exposure was minimal, and according to Deputy Adam Crider, who was coughing after the incident, the dust present at the site was mainly concrete dust.

City environmental health director Lee Cassin said that the vermiculite at Aspen Middle school may have contained asbestos but it was probably less harmful than most asbestos containing materials, such as the kind used in pipe insulation.

The crew members who responded to the incident filled out standard workers’ compensation and injury reports, and visited doctors to make sure there was no short-term damage to their health.

Aspen human resources director Rebecca Doane says that such follow-ups are standard procedure, especially in unusual situations, such as the exposure of officers to asbestos. She points out, however, that danger is part of the job for first-responder crews.

Officer Joe Holman said that for the rescue crews, helping the injured man was the biggest priority. Holman further said he wasn’t worried about the possibility of negative consequences, and that the priority of helping the injured man outweighed the potential risks.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 12th, 2008 at 3:32 pm and is filed under Asbestos Exposure, Colorado, Jobsite Exposure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.