Archive for the ‘New Mexico’ Category

Carlsbad, New Mexico - The Eddy County Commission has approved the first step in an asbestos abatement project in Happy Valley and La Huerta, but plans to take the project slowly due to the high level of asbestos in one of the condemned properties.

The first step-inspection of the properties to determine how much asbestos is present-has been approved. The next steps will include removing the asbestos and demolishing the buildings.

This abatement project is a little unusual, however, as the committee is not sure who owns the condemned buildings. Commissioner Lewis Derrick was concerned that the county doesn’t know whether the properties have mortgage liens against them, as the county will initially be paying for the asbestos removal.

The commission already authorized the inspections after taking advice from county attorney Cas Tabor, but has decided to hold off on authorizing the rest of the project until a title and mortgage search has been carried out to determine if any liens or other liabilities are held on the properties.

Tabor said, “I agree with Lewis. We need to do the research to see if there is an existing mortgage on the properties. If there is a sizeable one, we can work with the mortgage company.”

Another problem with the project is the expense of asbestos abatement. Safely removing asbestos requires contractors and work crews who have received special training in handling asbestos, as well as the use of special techniques such as wet-removal to minimize the generation and dispersal of asbestos dust. In addition, disposal of asbestos waste is around three times more expensive than disposal of non-hazardous waste.

Eddy County Manager Steve Massey says that the presence of asbestos in one building has already been confirmed, but is not certain whether asbestos is present in the others. Massey has estimated the costs of removing asbestos from just one of the properties as between $17,000 and $20,000. The costs of abatement in the three other buildings will depend on how much asbestos is present in them.

The county has decided that if it proceeds with removal, it will bill the owners of the properties for the costs of asbestos abatement and demolition, and place liens against the properties until the money is repaid. If the owners don’t pay the bills, the county says, they can recoup the money by selling the properties.

Massey has also emphasized that the county is not simply targeting properties because they are unsightly or are built on valuable land. The clean-up and demolition is necessary due to the asbestos hazards posed by the buildings.

Commissioner Janell Whitlock said, “If we are going to go in and demolish structures because they are unsightly in the neighborhood, then I would be against it. But if it’s a health and safety hazard, then I don’t have a problem.”

Carlsbad, New Mexico – The operator of a landfill in Carlsbad, New Mexico received an administrative compliance order and a fine of $1.3 million after accepting asbestos and other hazardous waste at the facility.

The Lea Land Inc. Landfill was issued the penalty and order by the New Mexico Environment Department. The waste disposal violations that prompted the penalty date back three years to 2005.

According to the New Mexico Environment Department the waste that was illegally accepted at the landfill included144 truckloads of regulated asbestos waste containing asbestos-cement siding, as well as 137 truckloads of hazardous waste, including coated lead-containing metal siding.

The Operations Plan, Disposal Management Plan and Waste Screening Plan of the Lea Land Inc. Landfill all state that asbestos and hazardous waste are not accepted at the site.

Other violations the landfill has been noted for include denying New Mexico Environment Department representatives access to the facility, failing to compact and cover solid waste properly, and failing to monitor groundwater as required.
The landfill is a disposal cell of around six acres. The cell is fitted with a removable synthetic liner that drains to a single point for leachate collection. This makes groundwater monitoring very important as it provides information on the integrity of the cell liner. Any signs of leachate in groundwater at the site would be a strong indication that there may have been a breach in the cell liner.

The Solid Waste Bureau discovered the Lea Land Inc. violations after a citizen made allegations about illegal asbestos disposal at the site.

Upon investigation the Solid Waste Bureau discovered that the asbestos and hazardous waste had come from several demolished facilities owned by Intrepid Potash New Mexico LLC. The waste materials had been removed and disposed of by Vanco Insulation Abatement Inc. and Tripod Inc., respectively.

Jim Norton, director of the Environmental Protection Division, said that landfill workers and managers had violated the solid waste regulations that had been designed to protect both local residents and the environment.

Lea Land Inc. has been ordered to cap its current disposal cell and pay the civil penalty of $1.3 million. The company has thirty days in which it can request a hearing and submit a response to the New Mexico Environment Department.

March 19, 2008, Albuquerque, NM - The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) has announced that executive director Linda Reinstein will keynote the 25th Anniversary and Exposition of the Environmental Information Association.

Reinstein, who is co-founder of ADAO as well as its executive director, will speak on the dangers of asbestos and its effects on communities. She will also discuss product testing that discovered asbestos in consumer products and consumer toys.

Several thousand people each year are diagnosed with mesothelioma and asbestosis, two diseases that occur only as a result of asbestos exposure. An estimated 100,000 Americans will die of an asbestos-related disease during the next decade. Both diseases respond to treatment in a very limited way, and are incurable.

The Environmental Information Association (EIA) has been at the forefront of the environmental industry for 25 years, collecting and disseminating information about environmental health and safety issues that are relevant to industrial sites, buildings, and other facility operations.

ADAO is a non-profit volunteer-run organization that is dedicated to serving as a voice for the victims and families who have been affected by asbestos diseases. The organization advocates a complete ban on asbestos products and encourages research to improve prognosis and treatment for people with asbestos-related diseases.

Linda Reinstein says she is “honored” to speak at the EIA Anniversary conference. The title of her speech is “Turning Anger to Action”, and Reinstein notes that while people are “angry that…loved ones are still being exposed to deadly asbestos fibers, we realize that we can take a stand and prevent it from harming our loved ones in the future.” She adds that victims of asbestos and their loved ones “will fight this battle until the end, and together we will get this fatal substance banned from our nation forever.”

Reinstein, of Redondo Beach, California, has witnessed the effects of asbestos-related diseases first-hand. Her husband Alan, the former president of ADAO, died from mesothelioma in 2006 after being diagnosed in 2003 at the age of 63. Alan Reinstein was exposed to asbestos more than fifty years prior to his diagnosis with the cancer.

Linda Reinstein will speak at the EIA 25th Anniversary Conference and Exposition on Wednesday, March 19. Her keynote speech will be given in the Sandia Ballroom V at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The following week, on Saturday March 29, the ADAO will host its 4th annual Asbestos Awareness Day Conference. The ADAO host and organize the conference, which will be attended by executive director Linda Reinstein as well as asbestos disease experts from around the world. The ADAO conference will be held at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, Michigan, between 8am and 5.30pm.