MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina - A Food Lion grocery store on S. Kings Highway in Myrtle Beach has voluntarily closed during an investigation after asbestos dust was found in the building during renovation.

Myra Reece, chief of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control’s Bureau of Air Quality, said in a news release that the asbestos may have been released when a contractor removed floor tiles from the store last week. According to Reece, the process used should have been done in a manner that limits the amount of asbestos released into the air for the protection of workers, store employees and customers. The source of the asbestos was most likely the mastic used to secure the tiles to the floor.

Reece said that the DHEC is concerned that people who were in the store between February 18 and March 25 may have been exposed to asbestos fibers, or purchased food products that have asbestos-containing dust on them.

Air quality samples that were taken during the renovation showed no asbestos in the air, but other DHEC tests on samples taken from store surfaces showed levels of chrysotile, one of the asbestos minerals.

Asbestos is the name given to fibrous minerals with long, thin fibers. The fibers are heat resistant, and are used for many industrial uses.  When released in the air, the tiny fibers can remain for long periods of time, and be inhaled by people in the area. Once inhaled, they may become lodged in the lung tissues and remain for years, causing illness and health effects decades later. Those health effects include several different forms of asbestos cancer, including mesothelioma, a rare cancer that affects the lining of the lungs and other organs.

Erik R. Svendsen, DHEC’s environmental epidemiologist says that while some shoppers at the store during the time period stated may have been exposed to asbestos fibers, there is a very small chance of long term health effects.

Most cases of asbestos related illnesses are diagnosed in people who have a history of long-term exposure in occupational settings, though there have been cases where the exposure to asbestos is far shorter.

The DHEC has prepared a fact sheet with answers for customers who may have visited the store during the period in question - February 18 to March 25. The fact sheet answers questions that customers may have about asbestos, the release and about what to do with food items that were purchased from the store during those dates. The information can be found at the DHEC website at  http://www.scdhec.gov.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 10th, 2008 at 5:19 pm and is filed under Asbestos Exposure, South Carolina. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.