Epa gives the go-ahead for smelter works asbestos abatement

Ripley, Michigan â€" Franklin Township has owned the Quincy Smelter Works for around eight years, and has finally been given the signal on a plan to remove asbestos from the site. The Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to manage and fund the project, which will remove asbestos and toxic heavy metals from the Quincy Smelter Works located on M-26 in Ripley. Franklin Township had acquired the site in 1999, after the then-owner Quincy Development Corp was unable to fulfill its financial obligations regarding the site. Following the acquisition the township had planned to lease the site to the Keweenaw National Historical Park. The historical organization is interested in the Quincy Smelter Works because the site represents an important part of Franklin Township’s copper mining history. However, Franklin Township Supervisor Glenn Ekdahl said that after an inspection of the site in 2002, the EPA had determined that the issue of asbestos and heavy metals that were present on the east side of the site would have to be resolved before any on-site development could be carried out. The site is contaminated not only with asbestos, but also with heavy metals such as arsenic, which were used in the mining and smelting processes carried out at the Smelter Works. Both asbestos and heavy metals present on the site must be removed before any further redevelopment can take place. According to the EPA and Glenn Ekdahl, there are further issued that must be addressed during the remediation project. It is expected that the dilapidated state of some of the buildings on-site will present a challenge. Many of the buildings will require stabilization before asbestos can be removed. Another issue is that of erosion: the EPA, in conjunction with Michigan Technological University, is developing a plan that will help protect the property from erosion from nearby Mont Ripley. Yet another issue must be taken into account: because the Quincy Smelter Works is destined to be a historic site, care must be taken to preserve historic buildings. Park landscape architect Steve DeLong will oversee asbestos removal to ensure that historically relevant aspects of the site are preserved. Work on the Quincy Smelter Works remediation project is slated to begin in the spring, and is expected to cost several hundred thousand dollars. The EPA had previously estimated the cost as around $400,000, in 2004, but expects that figure will have increased. Residents of Ripley and Franklin Township are excited by the clean-up plans, which will make the Quincy Smelter Works a potentially economically viable site and help preserve some important local history. (Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News)