Document text
Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend August 25, 2005 Asbestos-disposal claims investigated By PARIS ACHEN Mail Tribune The city of Grants Pass may have violated state law by allowing asbestos-laden rubble from demolished buildings into its garbage transfer station on Merlin Road, officials with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality said Wednesday. The DEQ recently took samples from several pieces of building debris disposed of at the transfer station to find out whether the asbestos posed a risk to public health. The results are expected in the next week, DEQ officials said. "If it appears the transfer station accepted a quantity (of asbestos) that is a risk to the public, our enforcement actions will be two-fold," said John Becker, air quality manager in the DEQ Medford office. "We will ask them to correct the violation by abating the asbestos, which they may already be doing, and there will be a (financial) penalty." Grants Pass Sanitation, which operates the transfer station and has a franchise with the city, recently hired Medford-based Western States Environmental Inc. to sample about 20 pieces of building material, said general manager Gary Penning. Only two of the 20 pieces tested positive for asbestos, Penning said. Advertisement The material has been removed from the facility according to DEQ regulations, he said. The transfer station, which distributes garbage to landfills, is not licensed to accept crumbling or decaying asbestos material, also called friable asbestos, which could release dust into the air, Becker said. Long-term exposure to asbestos dust is linked with scarring of the lungs and lung cancer, according to the Environmental Protection Agency Web site. It is unknown how long the transfer station might have been accepting friable asbestos material, or whether it did it knowingly, Becker said. Penning said the transfer station does not accept material it knows contains friable asbestos. "You can’t tell asbestos by looking at it," Penning said. "The protocol is if we have a material we suspect contains asbestos we isolate it, remove workers and any members of the public from the area and call in an abatement company." He said he is working with the city and Josephine County to make sure contractors know to test for asbestos before demolishing a building and how to handle it when found. Reach reporter Paris Achen at 776-4496 or e-mail Asbestos- disposal claims investigated ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Online Casino Salvia Divinorum Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Online Pharmacy Online Casino Reviews Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Rogue Valley Travel Discount Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Casino Gambling Sites Budget Website Templates Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Advertisement s