Asbestos causes Delays in Fire Investigation

Investigators who are trying to determine what caused a fire which destroyed an abandoned school in SeaTac, Washington are being delayed by problems relating to asbestos which was present in the school.

The four-alarm fire began around 6PM on Saturday May 31, and around ninety firefighters from eleven different agencies responded quickly. Firefighters were unable to enter the building, however, due to its dilapidated state and concerns that the building might collapse. The fire burned for over an hour, after which the only structure left standing were the bricked sections built in 1937.

Work crews have brought a backhoe to the scene of the fire at Angle Lake School and have been waiting to use it since Monday June 2, but officials say they must wait due to environmental concerns.

The problem? Asbestos is present in the roof, and officials say that the backhoe operator must be licensed to deal with asbestos.

Asbestos was a common component of construction materials up until the 1980s due to its high fire resistance and other desirable factors, but the demolition or renovation of older buildings means the asbestos they contain must be dealt with appropriately.

Asbestos is therefore present in many schools built before this time, as well as residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. The substance was so cheap and had so many desirable properties that it was added to thousands of products, including many types of construction materials.

However, due to the hazards associated with asbestos exposure, many problems associated with its exposure are now arising. Inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause lethal diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma due to the chronic inflammation that the fibers cause in the lungs. For these reasons the management and disposal of asbestos-containing construction waste is tightly controlled.

Failure to adhere to laws and regulations controlling asbestos handling can lead to hefty fines, as many contractors have discovered over the past several years.

And in this case, the presence of asbestos in the Angle Lake School’s roof means delays in the investigative process while a licensed professional who can legally deal with the asbestos waste is located.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 26th, 2008 at 4:25 pm and is filed under Asbestos Exposure, Jobsite Exposure, Mesothelioma Treatment, Washington. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.