Epa to conduct air tests at iowa tornado site

The Environmental Protection Agency will monitor air samples in Parkersburg, Iowa as part of the massive continuing clean-up efforts in the wake of the EF-5 tornado which swept through the area on May 25, killing six people and injuring almost seventy others. EPA Region 7 personnel will be testing for asbestos and other particulates in the air, to ensure that it is safe for residents to return to their homes, and safe for non-residents who are providing assistance with clean-up and rebuilding efforts.. The testing will be carried out by EPA on-scene coordinators beginning Tuesday June 10, and will continue for as long as is required. Testing will be conducted at several key points in Parkersburg. EPA Region 7 will deploy its Mobile Command Post on June 11. The unit is outfitted with the equipment needed to receive and transmit sample data. The tornado arrived in Parkersburg on the afternoon of Sunday, May 25, and during a short time it devastated the town, leaving almost half of it heavily damaged or in ruins the next day. The storm hit Parkersburg just after 5PM on Sunday. On its east-to-west path it struck Parkersburg, New Hartford, and Dunkerton. Around eighty miles to the southwest, the Des Moines area had heavy rain and wind that gusted to 70MPH. Disaster proclamations were issued for Black Hawk, Buchanan, Butler, and Delaware counties. Several days’ worth of harsh weather across the nation preceded the Iowa tornado. On Friday May 23, two people were killed in Kansas, and Oklahoma was hit by storms the next day. The following Monday another tornado struck Kay County. The day after the tornado, Parkersburg officials counted 222 homes and 21 businesses destroyed, and more than 400 homes damaged. City hall, the local high school, and the town’s only gas station and grocery store were destroyed. Butler County Sheriff Jason Johnson said the more than 600 homes damaged or destroyed, plus the businesses, accounted for around half the town. Iowa Governor Chet Culver said the devastation was overwhelming to witness, “You can’t imagine this kind of devastation, homes completely gone. And to see people trying to sort through their belongings is very difficult.” Rescuers continued to sift through the wreckage of homes and businesses for several days, but the death toll is officially at six, according to Bret Voorhees, bureau chief of Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management. (Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News)