Epa releases asbestos report on north ridge, oregon

The federal Environmental Protection Agency has this week released a feasibility report which lists and describes several different possible methods for cleaning up an asbestos-contaminated site at North Ridge Estates. The site is located around three miles north of Klamath Falls in Oregon. The asbestos contamination stems from the presence of United States Navy Marine Barracks on the site, which were built during the 1940s. Asbestos was a common component of construction materials between the 1940s and the 1980s due to its high fire resistance and other desirable factors. Asbestos was so cheap and had so many desirable properties that it was added to thousands of products, including many types of construction materials. Asbestos is therefore present in many residential, commercial, and industrial buildings built before this time. However, due to the hazards associated with asbestos exposure, many problems associated with its exposure are now arising. Inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause lethal diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma due to the chronic inflammation that the fibers cause in the lungs. These hazards mean it is necessary to take extra safety precautions when working with asbestos and asbestos-containing products. Exposure to asbestos can cause serious and lethal diseases, including asbestosis and an aggressive and treatment-resistant cancer called mesothelioma. The Marine Barracks constructed at the North Ridge Estates site included around eighty buildings, and asbestos-containing construction materials would have been used in most if not all of them. The buildings were demolished in the 1970s, and at that time the North Ridge Housing Estates were constructed. Since then, both the EPA and the state Department of Environmental Quality have been working to completely eliminate all of the asbestos present at the site. This week, crews were in the area raking a portion of land where the EPA has so far not observed any asbestos. This sampling method was used to mimic what homeowners in the area do to determine if asbestos is present in their soil. The EPA say this is the last time they’ll sample sites before formulating their final plan for cleaning up the area. Public Information Officer Judy Smith said, “Cleaning up asbestos to protect the health of people, we’ll do one of two things. One is to just fence off parts of the site so that people can’t come in contact with the contamination. Another way is to conceal it under a cap of clean soil.” The EPA plans to release its clean up proposal in September. (Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News)