Opposition to forth worth demolition raises asbestos safety questions

FORT WORTH - Opponents to a controversial method of building demolition scheduled to be used in Fort Worth raise questions of public safety, health and racial discrimination. The demolition method uses a blanket of foam to reduce dust raised by demolition activities, thereby reducing the amount of asbestos in the air. According to the EPA and the Fort Worth city council, the new method is safe, and could pave the way for a change in federal regulations that will make it easier and cheaper for communities nationwide to demolish eyesores in their neighborhoods. Environmental and public justice groups have raised concerns about the city’s decision to test the new method of building demolition in a densely populated, racially diverse and economically struggling neighborhood. A group that fought the use of the wet method of demolition when Fort Worth proposed its use to demolish the Cowtown Inn, said that the method is not ready for testing in a populated area. At a news conference on Monday, Public Interest stated that the dangers are still too great. The federal government holds that there is no safe level of asbestos exposure. Scott Frost, a lawyer working with Public Justice stated that there is no doubt that asbestos will be released into the community. Frost went on to point out that the real health consequences of the demolition wouldn’t be known for decades. Inhaled asbestos fibers are known to cause mesothelioma and other lung diseases. Mesothelioma is a type of lung cancer that can take up to thirty years to develop. The method was tested at an empty army base in Arkansas, and the results of testing reviewed by a panel of peers. The reviewers are mixed in their estimation of the safety of the wet method. Most agree that it has the potential to make it economically feasible for communities across the country to demolish buildings that have become eyesores in their neighborhoods. Currently, demolishing rundown buildings dating from the 1980s or earlier is a costly process, because all asbestos must be removed from the premises before demolition can take place. Removal of asbestos before demolition can add tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars to the demolition costs in large projects. Fredy Polanco, a member of the peer review panel who is also a member of the Asbestos Advisory Committee for the Texas Health Department is concerned that if the Fort Worth method is approved for widespread use, it will be subject to abuse by contractors who will cut costs and put people at risk. He had visions of contractors putting out “kids with water hoses to wet down piles of asbestos”. Polanco also believes that the current costs of asbestos abatement and removal are being inflated to increase the positive impact of the possible savings of using the wet method. “The EPA seems to inflate the cost of the standard NESHAP method to show that this alternative method is a fiscal way to do it.” An EPA official believes that this alternative method costs less and takes less time. Roger Wilmoth, chief of the EPA’s multimedia branch in Cincinnati, says that more and more buildings that contain asbestos are surpassing their usefulness, and cities and building owners must deal with safe ways to demolish them. The EPA is attempting to find more cost-effective ways to demolish the buildings. Wilmoth said that recommendations from the peer review group were incorporated into a second test, and that the changes will be used again in Fort Worth this week. The recommendations that will be implemented include using tougher monitoring of inside asbestos levels and having an asbestos monitor on the person soaking the inside of the building. Representatives of Public Interest, a consumer justice watchdog, said that more research is needed before the method is considered safe enough to use in populated areas. Inez Byrd, a neighbor of Oak Hollow, the apartment complex that will be demolished with this method, says that she is concerned about the health of children and people with respiratory problems who live in her complex. “Once this stuff gets airborne,” said Ms. Byrd, “it is going to hurt people.” Greg Ricks disagrees. The vice president of the Woodhaven Neighborhood Association says he is comfortable with the assurances of the EPA and the city that the test isn’t dangerous. “I would be out here screaming bloody murder if it wasn’t safe,” he said. (Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News)