Archive for the ‘Massachusetts’ Category

Sandwich, Massachusetts - The demolition of the freezer plant which is located alongside Cape Cod Canal is still an ongoing process, and according to Sandwich Fire Prevention Officer J.J. Burke, will enter Phase II this week.

The project has already been delayed several times. The first incident occurred in March, after the discovery of roofing shingles which contained asbestos. Officer Burke said at the time that the asbestos in the shingles was encapsulated in roofing tar and wasn’t dangerous. However, the shingles would need to be removed in accordance with state and federal laws that regulate the handling of asbestos.

Further delays have come from the requirement of the site to undergo preparation before the asbestos-containing shingles can be removed. Certain interior electrical components had to be removed prior to asbestos removal, to prevent the possibility of contamination. Asbestos waste is three times more expensive to dispose of than non-contaminated waste, so the plan must minimize the possibility of contamination of ‘clean’ waste.

Another issue that has held the procedure up was that some sections of the roof would land on adjacent property owned by the Army Corps of Engineers, meaning that the owners of that land also have to approve the plan.

The former freezer plant consists of two units, including a two-storey timber-framed building and a single-storey block-and-mortar building. The single-storey building was demolished as part of Phase I of the project, which was completed May 8.

Phase II involves the demolition of the two-storey timber-framed unit, but before that can be completed, a plan must be devised to safely deal with the asbestos.

Project manager Joe Forns and structural engineer Michelle Cudillo are now working with the Department of Environmental Protection to develop a plan for demolition of the two-storey building, to ensure its asbestos roof is removed safely.

The plan involves the removal of the room and its transference to an approved disposal site in Maine. Following the removal of the roof, the remainder of the building can be demolished. A permit may be issued for the new Phase II plan as early as this week.

According to Officer Burke, the roof must be removed from the building and the property within 24 hours once the project has been started, as the asbestos debris cannot be allowed to remain at the site any longer than necessary. The roof must be removed first to prevent the possibility of contaminating the rest of the building.

Once the plan for removing the roof is approved and the permit is issued, the site’s owner has thirty days in which to demolish the two-storey building.

Newton, Massachusetts - An independent report produced by two Newton citizens indicates that all six of the city’s fire stations are plagued by health and safety issues.

The study was carried out by structural engineer Steve Siegel and architect Mark Sangiolo, and concluded that “Some conditions we viewed are presently dangerous to building occupants, and we decided that our report would be most useful if it focused on those items.” Siegel said, “we expect them [firefighters] to serve us and keep us safe, and I feel that we have an obligation to house them in safe facilities.”

While the report conducted by Sangiolo and Siegel concludes that “the building structures are in substantially good shape,” they do have plenty of problems.

The two researchers found evidence that the fire stations had fallen into disrepair in some places, with peeling paint, broken floor tiles and windows, leaking plumbing fixtures, and inadequate heating. In addition, they noticed that the fire stations lack adequate exhaust systems to expel potentially carcinogenic exhaust fumes.

Six years ago, firefighter Michael Flynn died from a cancer that was believed to be caused by exposure to exhaust fumes. The city subsequently spent $140,000 on new exhaust systems, but the research indicates the expenditure may not have been enough to properly fit all six fire stations.

The report also mentions the ongoing problems that many of the fire stations have with asbestos. In April, during a remodeling project in fire station three, three firefighters were exposed to friable asbestos, and earlier in May, friable asbestos was removed from fire station 2.

The firefighters who were exposed to asbestos visited a doctor shortly after the exposure incident but due to the long latency period of asbestos cancers such as mesothelioma, there is no way of knowing whether the firefighters were exposed to a dangerous amount of asbestos.

The city will present its own report this week, and another city-commissioned report carried out in April supports the findings of Siegel and Sangiolo.

The city’s report recommended that all six stations receive repairs to steam, electrical and plumbing systems, as well as to roofs and windows. Each of the stations is awaiting substantial improvements which will be made over the next ten years, and which will include asbestos abatement.

The US Environmental Protection Agency has honored three Hamden, Connecticut residents for their efforts in a Department of Public Health Asbestos initiative that helps protect children from asbestos exposure.

Ron Skomro is the supervisor of the state Department of Public Health’s Asbestos Program. Along with Brian Tool and Kristen Day, also of the state Department of Public health, Skomro succeeded in changing the way art clay is labeled and sold after discovering that some clays labeled as non-toxic were contaminated with asbestos.

Asbestos exposure is linked to the development of serious diseases such as asbestosis, and lethal cancers such as mesothelioma, as well as lung cancer.

Ron Skomro, Brian Tool, and Kristen Day started their efforts after discovering that elevated levels of asbestos had been found in clay used in a school art room.

Talc is added to clay to lower the temperature at which it needs to be heated during the manufacturing process. Some forms of talc are naturally contaminated with small amounts of asbestos, and with asbestos finding its way into school art room clay, students were being exposed to asbestos on a regular basis.

Asbestos is a danger only when it’s airborne and can be inhaled: with asbestos embedded in very small amounts in the clay, exposure wasn’t likely, but with even a tiny possibility present, the state Department of Public Health had to act to protect local children.

After some initial investigation, Ron Skomro, Brian Tool, and Kristen Day found that clay made using asbestos-contaminated talc was being sold to many schools and institutions in Connecticut.

As a result, the state DPH told schools they would have to inventory their clay stocks and begin working with clay suppliers to eliminate the sale of the asbestos-contaminated clay.

One major supplier of the clay agreed voluntarily to cease shipping talc-containing clay, and also volunteered to exchange clay they had previously sold so that schools could obtain fresh supplies of non-toxic clay without losing money.

The DPH also asked that the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission review the issue. As a result, the Art and Creative Materials Institute, which works with the CPSC, told its members that they could no longer label clay as “non-toxic” if it contained talc.

For their efforts in stopping the sale of the asbestos-contaminated clay, Ron Skomro, Brian Tool, and Kristen Day were awarded a 2008 Environmental Merit Award by the Environmental Protection Agency at a ceremony in Boston, Massachusetts.

Newton, Massachusetts - A month after asbestos was discovered at Fire Station 3 in Newton, Massachusetts, more of the toxin has been unearthed at Fire Station 2 in nearby Auburndale.

Even so, trucks and firefighters that were on shift during the clean-up operations were removed from the station to prevent exposure. They were sent to other locations in the district, to remain on standby.

Mayoral spokesperson Jeremy Solomon said that the asbestos-which was found in tiles and heating pipe elbows-was not friable, and therefore there was minimal danger. Non-friable asbestos doesn’t crumble easily and therefore fibers are unlikely to become airborne.

According to Solomon, air tests at Fire Station 2 had never been positive for asbestos. However, an April 11 report about samples taken by FLI Environmental indicated that friable asbestos was discovered at Fire Station 2, but the fibers had not been airborne.

The FLI report said that damaged asbestos materials were found in the boiler room, a bathroom, a closet, in the tire-check room, and in other areas throughout the station.

Of the boiler room material, 35% was Chrysotile asbestos that was damaged and friable. Of the pipe insulation, 10% was found to be Chrysotile asbestos that was damaged and friable. Damaged tiles were found in three different locations and noted to be 5% asbestos.

Other exposure incidents at Fire Station 3 prompted more careful handling of asbestos abatement in the fire stations.

The first exposure incident occurred on March 19 when contractors were working in Fire Station 3. During the incident, visible dust was dispersed and debris from the ceiling fell near four firefighters. One employee said dust had fallen onto him and his computer.

An investigation was initiated after the exposure incident. Initial tests carried out on the air and the dust in the incident area came back negative.

A state report released on Friday March 28 indicated that the asbestos dust and debris did pose a health hazard to the workers carrying out the renovation work and to the firefighters present in the station.

At the time, Mayor David Cohen said, “We are going to continue to [take] precautions as we do additional work in the fire stations to make sure that our workers are not exposed to asbestos and that we are making the work as safe as possible. The first priority of the city is the safety of the inhabitants of the fire stations.”

Whitman, Massachusetts - Asbestos that was discovered during the demolition of a school has driven up the demolition costs by almost six times.

Demolition of the Holt School in Whitman, Massachusetts was to have cost around $300,000. However, after asbestos was discovered, the cost has gone up to more than $1.6 million.

Town Administrator Frank Lynam said asbestos was found in tiles, floor lining beneath the tiles, and in exterior bricks used in construction of the original school buildings.

Lynam also said that the pre-demolition asbestos survey which had been carried out was inadequate, as it had failed to find any of the asbestos that was discovered during the demolition.

The discovery of asbestos drives the cost of demolition up considerably for several reasons.

First is the fact that the asbestos must be removed before the school buildings can be demolished. Leaving the asbestos intact during demolition could potentially spread large clouds of asbestos dust into the environment, creating an environmental and health hazard.

Second, the asbestos removal must be carried out by professional contractors who are licensed to handle asbestos. In addition, special procedures must be used in removing the asbestos, to prevent the dispersion of asbestos dust.

These procedures include a process called wet removal, in which asbestos-containing materials are wetted down before they are removed, to prevent the release of dust and airborne fibers.

Finally, the cost of disposing of asbestos waste is significantly higher than disposing of non-hazardous material. Asbestos disposal is generally around three times more expensive than disposal of non-hazardous waste.

All of these are particularly important considerations that are necessary to prevent asbestos exposure to anyone involved in handling the substance. Even a small amount of exposure can cause a deadly cancer called mesothelioma. The health hazards of asbestos exposure have prompted most states to have strict regulations about handling the substance, as well as regulations governing demolition of buildings that contain it.

However, the very high cost of this abatement could have been at least partially avoided. Had the town known of the asbestos earlier, Lynam said, the cost for asbestos abatement would be lower, as the town would have been able to put the work out for contractor bids. Instead, the town has had to pay a higher cost to get the work done with minimum delay.

Framingham, Massachusetts – Two weeks ago, more than one hundred residents of a Framingham, Massachusetts apartment building were left homeless after fire and smoke rendered it uninhabitable. Now, residents are still waiting for a chance to retrieve their possessions from their homes.

The three alarm fire was caused by a plumber’s torch inside a bathroom closet on the second floor of the building, according to the state fire marshal. The building was heavily damaged, with an estimated $3 million repair bill according to Fire Chief Ollie Gadson.

Residents of the former building now find that they have lost their possessions as well as their homes. Not only are tenants unable to retrieve their own items, they’re also unable to claim on insurance: many tenants have found that their insurance adjusters haven’t been allowed to enter the building, meaning their claims can’t be approved.

Unfortunately, it’s a simple matter of public safety: inside the building are several thousand square feet of asbestos-containing materials. There is asbestos in the ceilings, in pipe fittings, and in other areas of the building, according to DEP spokesperson Joe Ferson. “As a matter of public safety, you can’t have people going in that area,” said Ferson.”

Often during the process of fighting a fire, asbestos becomes dispersed throughout a building. In severe cases an entire building may become unsafe even if it contained asbestos in discrete areas. These conditions have in the past prevented residents of other burned buildings from retrieving possessions at all, because removing asbestos from porous items such as furniture and clothing is extremely expensive. In Texas recently, former tenants of the Bellerive Apartments were left homeless and without their possessions for that reason.

The owner of the building, a Texas-based company called JPI Management Co., has been granted an asbestos abatement permit by the Department of Environmental Protection and it’s likely that residents may not be able to return until the asbestos is cleared from the building.

Laura Fritz, a former resident, says that a JPI representative has told her she’ll be arrested if she tries to enter the building.

Thomas N. O’Brien, JPI executive vice president and managing partner says the company is working on getting former residents back inside to claim their possessions, and hopes that people can return as soon as possible. The company has not mentioned whether or not former residents’ possessions have been contaminated with asbestos.

Sandwich, Massachusetts - After delays lasting several months, a former freezer plant situated alongside the Cape Cod Canal is finally undergoing demolition. The project will be completed by May 8.

The work was delayed in March after roofing shingles were found to contain asbestos. Sandwich Fire Prevention Officer J.J. Burke said the asbestos in the shingles was encapsulated in roofing tar and wasn’t dangerous.

Even so, the asbestos-containing shingles has to be removed, contained, and safely disposed of before demolition can begin. Safe removal of asbestos materials usually requires so-called ‘wet removal,’ to prevent the formation of asbestos dust. According to required regulations, the asbestos waste will taken to an approved asbestos disposal site once it has been removed and sealed.

Further delays came from the requirement of the site to undergo preparation before the asbestos-containing shingles could be removed. Certain interior electrical components had to be removed prior to asbestos removal, to prevent the possibility of contamination. Asbestos waste is three times more expensive to dispose of than non-contaminated waste, so the plan had to minimize the possibility of contamination of ‘clean’ waste.

Another issue that held the procedure up was that some sections of the roof would land on adjacent property owned by the Army Corps of Engineers, meaning that the owners of that land also had to approve the plan.

Developing a careful plan for the removal of asbestos-containing waste is an absolute requirement in most states, particularly for large-scale industrial demolition. Failure to remove asbestos waste prior to demolition could constitute an enormous hazard to public safety, as demolition would create massive clouds of inhalable asbestos dust.

Inhalation of asbestos can cause lethal diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma, two serious lung conditions. Mesothelioma can develop in people who experience relatively low level asbestos exposure, so protecting the public is an important consideration in cases such as the Sandwich freezer plant demolition.

Because the potential risks are so severe, heavy fines and penalties face people who are convicted of crimes involving the failure to remove or dispose of asbestos safely. Unfortunately, some developers and contractors are tempted to ignore asbestos regulations due to the expense of removing and disposing of the toxic substance.

In the case of the freezer plant, asbestos removal and demolition of the building will cost in the region of $250,000.

Massachusetts - The demolition of former church buildings in North Brookline, MA, was delayed following the discovery of yet more asbestos-containing materials in the church buildings.

The rectory of the former church, as well as two garages, is being demolished to make way for a new housing development that will accommodate more than thirty affordable homes.

Most of the asbestos had already been removed from the church buildings in 2004. Remaining materials may include up to 7,500 square feet of asbestos-containing window caulking, roofing tiles, and other materials. The remaining waste is non-friable, meaning that the materials are solid and the release of airborne particles is not likely.

Last week, work crews began to remove asbestos waste from the St. Aidan’s former church site. Safe asbestos removal involves wetting asbestos-containing materials to reduce the amount of dust generated when they are disturbed. Following the removal of the materials they are bagged in thick containers and disposed of at a landfill that is equipped to handle asbestos waste.

However, now that more asbestos has been discovered, the demolition of the church buildings has been delayed again.

Of the three buildings scheduled for asbestos abatement and demolition, the two church garages have been completed, with just the rectory remaining.

Work was ceased on Wednesday April 9 after workers at the site discovered that more asbestos-contaminated material was present under the roof shingles of the buildings.

Completion of the asbestos removal project had been scheduled for the week ending April 4, so that demolition could begin on April 7. However, the demolition was postponed until April 10 because the asbestos removal was taking longer than expected.

New asbestos was discovered on April 9, and now workers are determining how much more asbestos there is to remove, and how it can be safely removed from the rectory roof.

According to David Armitage, from the Planning Office for Urban Affairs, the demolition of the rectory may begin as early as April 11, depending on how much extra asbestos must be removed.

Neighbors are frustrated, however, because many had made plans to stay out of the area during demolition of the building, to ensure the safety of their families. However, they had arrived home on the evening of the scheduled demolition day to find that it had not yet taken place. Many have also been concerned about their children being near the site during asbestos abatement.

SANDWICH, Massachusetts – Contractors working on the demolition of an old freezer plant on the Cape Cod Canal have hit a roadblock. Last week, roofing shingles from the roof of the old structure tested positive for asbestos, halting demolition work until the DEP approves of a new plan for removing the asbestos.

Sandwich Fire Prevention Officer J.J. Burke said that until he hears from the DEP about the new plan, he can’t issue a new demolition permit for the building. Brian Bergen, demolition contractor for the site, and Joe Forns, project manager, are working with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to revise the demolition plan for the building. Because the roof tiles contain asbestos, they must be removed before the building is demolished to reduce the chance of releasing asbestos fibers into the air.

In addition, demolishing the building with the tiles intact will contaminate the rest of the building debris with asbestos. Federal law requires that all asbestos-containing materials be removed from structures before they are demolished to reduce the risk of asbestos exposure. All asbestos containing materials must be disposed of using special precautions to prevent and reduce the possibility of releasing asbestos into the community. Contaminated debris can only be disposed of at licensed landfills that have the capacity and the equipment to deal with asbestos. The necessity for those precautions can add considerably to the costs of demolition.

Burke said that the community has nothing to fear from the shingles because the asbestos is encapsulated in a special tar. The DEP isn’t concerned about a health hazard, he said. It’s just that the materials from the room will have to be bagged separately and go to a separate facility for disposal. Arrangements for disposal of the materials that contain asbestos have been made with an approved site in Maine.

Burke said that the remainder of the debris will also be disposed of in ways that are as environmentally aware as possible. Some of the heavy timber will be donated to the Cape Cod Audubon Society to make osprey nests. Steel, concrete and other heavy timber will be transported to recycling centers at the end of each workday so that the site will be cleaned up each day.

The DEP issued an emergency waiver to allow contractors to remove all the interior components of the building’s electrical system as a precaution. If the asbestos-containing roof collapses, everything on which it lands will be considered asbestos contaminated. Disposing of asbestos contaminated materials is three times as expensive as recycling regular waste materials.

In addition, part of the roof to be demolished will land on abutting property which is owned by the Army Corps of Engineers. The building owner and the Army Corps’ lawyers were scheduled to meet today to discuss how the roof will be discarded.

Burke calls the demolition plan for the building “systematic and environmentally friendly”. Building owner Fournier has been cooperative, and voluntarily tested concrete section of the building for lead. Because those tests came back negative, the concrete will be ground up and used as part of the new foundation for whatever is built on the property.

Burke expects to issue the demolition permit by the end of this week following the approval of the Army Corps of Engineers and DEP. Fournier will have 30 days to demolish the building after receiving the permit.

Newton, Massachusetts – Firefighters at Fire Station Three in Newton, Massachusetts have spent the last week wondering if they’ve been exposed to asbestos.

Since the incident occurred last Wednesday, city and state investigators have been trying to determine whether exposure occurred.

FLI Environmental Inc was initially hired by the city to test the incident area. Those tests came back negative, but there are additional test results to come. Both firefighters and investigators are anxiously awaiting the results of tests carried out by Division of Occupational Safety, which they hope will confirm the negative result obtained by FLI.

The asbestos exposure incident occurred when contractors were carrying out renovations in Fire Station Three. As the work was being performed, debris from the ceiling fell onto four firefighters who were nearby.

Asbestos is known to be present in the building, so an investigation was initiated. Initial tests carried out on the air and the dust in the incident area came back negative.
Mayoral spokesperson Jeremy Solomon said “Our foremost concern is for the safety and health of building occupants. Clearly, before any [future] work is done in the walls or ceilings, better precautions need to be taken.”

Newton Fire Department community liaison Lieutenant Allan Leone said none of the firefighters had seen a doctor, and that firefighters had occupied the building since the incident.

Fire Union President Tom Lopez says that the state Department of Occupational Safety has ordered that all firehouse renovations be stopped, pending an investigation. Lopez said “I asked the station to be closed and they said no. A lot of people didn’t know what environment they are working in.”

Tom Lopez isn’t satisfied that the firefighters at Station Three are safe, despite the report from FLI that indicated there was no asbestos present in the air or dust, as the asbestos is now being removed from the station before renovations resume.

Lopez is also concerned about other incidents that might have threatened the safety of firefighters. At Station One in Newton, several members of the station experienced skin and respiratory problems while electrical work was being carried out, due to exposure to electrical insulation and dust. The station was supplied with a portable air purifier and a cleaning company was hired to clean the debris.

Mayoral spokesperson Jeremy Solomon says that the city is aware of the presence of asbestos, and that every precaution is being taken to ensure the safety of the workers at Station Three.