Asbestos found in illinois firehouse

Homewood, Illinois â€" Asbestos was discovered at the Homewood Fire Station at 17950 Dixie Highway in Homewood, Illinois, and testing is now underway to determine how much airborne asbestos is present in the building. Village manager Mark Franz says that a small amount of asbestos may have been disturbed during some renovation work which was carried out on a water-damaged wall on the north side of the fire station. The work was carried out two weeks ago by a Homewood-based business, Rickoff Remodeling. “It was just a small amount [of asbestos] discovered,” said Franz. “Unless a major problem is discovered through testing, we don’t anticipate closing down any other part of the building. But if there is more asbestos found than expected we’ll do whatever cleaning is necessary to make the building safe.” When the asbestos was discovered, it was immediately removed by environmental consulting and contract service RCM. Following the removal air samples and other tests were carried out by RCM to determine how high asbestos levels are and whether exposure risks are present in the building. According to Mark Franz, early asbestos tests indicate that one room on the north side of the fire station building may be above the threshold for permissible levels of asbestos. Since the discovery and removal of asbestos the fire station has been inspected by the Illinois Department of Public Health, and officials have requested that a large part of the building be cordoned off until the results of the asbestos tests are in. In addition, says Mark Franz, “the [health department] recommended a more aggressive test be done and we’re taking their advice.” Franz says the preliminary test results will be in some time this week. Asbestos was so commonly used in construction up until the 1980s that the discovery of asbestos inside the Homewood fire station is not a big surprise. In fact, some recent reports indicate that asbestos may be a common fixture inside fire stations built before this time. In Newton, Massachusetts, for example, the town’s fire stations will all be renovated over the next ten years, partly for the purpose of removing asbestos from the buildings. Recent renovation work in Newton’s Fire Station 3 exposed several firefighters to asbestos, and asbestos was also discovered at the town’s Fire Station 2. In the case of the Homewood, Illinois station, the asbestos was discovered without any apparent exposure risks occurring, and if only low levels of airborne asbestos are found the station may be quickly found safe for normal occupation. (Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News)