Second-hand smoke increases risks for asbestos workers

New York - Town officials of Goldens Bridge in New York say they have made ever effort to have property owner Brian Stein complete the repairs needed to make his property at 28 Fairmount Road in Goldens Bridge less hazardous, but to no avail. Members of the Town Board have now agreed that the town will complete the work and temporarily cover the costs involved. The town had previously asked Brian Stein to contract out the work that would be required to safely demolish three summer cottages on the seven acre Fairmount Road property. All three of the dilapidated cottages contain asbestos, which must be removed before the cottages can be demolished. Asbestos, which is known to cause an aggressively lethal type of asbestos cancer called mesothelioma, was widely used in construction materials for much of the twentieth century, and due to the widespread use of the substance, older buildings must be demolished with special care. Older buildings which contain asbestos must have all the asbestos removed before demolition can go ahead, to prevent the generation and dispersal of large clouds of asbestos dust which could contaminate the environment and be breathed in by locals. Removal of asbestos is costly and time-consuming, however, due to the need for specially trained and licensed workers, the need for special removal techniques to limit the production of dust, and the increased costs of disposal of asbestos-containing materials. Area residents have been complaining for almost a decade that the three cottages are dangerous, not only due to asbestos, but also due simply to their run-down state. Three successive town administrations have had discussions on what to do about the situation, but no action was taken until this year, when Town Supervisor Edward Brancati gave Stein a deadline of May 19 to locate and hire a contractor to carry out the asbestos remediation, but the deadline has passed with no progress made. According to Edward Brancati, “The Town Board is now authorizing our building department to move forward with this. We will work with our own consultants to apply to the New York State DEC [Department of Environmental Conservation] for the required permits so we can begin demolition at the Fairmount Road property.” Town officials said that the DEC usually takes between two and three weeks to respond to requests, but hope that the work can begin quickly once the permit is received. All of the costs the town incurs in getting the work done will be charged to Brian Stein. (Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News)