Shopping mall response to asbestos concerns

Toledo, Ohio â€" Southwyck Shopping Center, the Toledo, Ohio mall with asbestos and toxic mold issues released a statement following the news that the center would be closed after the weekend if its health and safety issues weren’t resolved at that time. City Building Inspection Commissioner Chris Zervos said that the present condition of the mall is a health hazard for employees and the public, and that management has just 72 hours to clean up the mold and contain the asbestos so that the public is not at risk of exposure. If the problems aren’t fixed by Monday, says the city’s statement, the mall will be closed down. Inspections of the Southwyck Shopping Mall were carried out on Friday May 2, and the asbestos and mold problems were discovered at that time. Black mold was found on ceilings in the main concourse of the mall. Asbestos was discovered in a store that is currently vacant but Zervos said that maintenance personnel who entered the vacant area could have inadvertently allowed asbestos to escape the contaminated area. Carty Finkbeiner, Mayor of Toledo, said “I hope it does not come to the point where we have to shut down the mall. If it does come to that, the city of Toledo department of development will work with current tenants to assist them in their relocation efforts.” Mall representatives today released a statement about the problems, saying they were “surprised by the City of Toledo’s allegations that any unsafe conditions exist in the Mall since the City has conducted regular inspections for the past several years…and until today we had never been notified of anything of this nature.” In addition, the statement says that the asbestos is located in a building that is currently vacant and has been vacant for eight years. “Access from the building to the mall has been sealed off for some time. Mall employees rarely enter the building. Additionally, the building has its own self-contained air handling system and if any ambient air problems were to exist in the building these should not be transmitted into the Mall.” The statement also says that the Southwyck Mall and its representatives have taken the city’s allegations seriously and “even though we believe no safety problem exists we have engaged an independent third party inspector to evaluate the situation.” The inspection of the Southwyck Shopping Center is scheduled for the morning of Friday May 9. (Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News)