December 28, 2006

By Lauren Heaton

After the demolition of Antioch College’s Norment dormitory in a controlled burn last month, the college found a small amount of asbestos-insulated piping behind a wall in the building’s basement. According to Lynda Sirk, director of public relations at Antioch, the college is pursuing a plan developed in concert with the Regional Air Pollution Control Agency (RAPCA) to clean up the potentially hazardous material. The results of the final lab analysis and air sampling at the site are still pending.

“Antioch will not consider the issue closed until the final results are obtained and a clear reading is received on all samples,” Sirk said in a press release from the college last week.

While the college did remove most of the asbestos in the building before it was burned, the asbestos abatement process was not complete and the college did not notify RAPCA of the cleanup according to regulation, said Bruno Maier, supervisor of monitoring at RAPCA. Following a review of the evidence, RAPCA is likely to issue a notice of violation to either the college or any one of the contractors involved in the cleanup, he said. Typically notices are accompanied by a fine for environmental degradation and an additional penalty for failing to comply with regulations for monetary gain, Maier said.

“We just need to look at all the evidence and make some sort of decision about what action to take against whomever we feel is responsible and try to settle with them, which could take anywhere from a month to six months,” he said.

Asbestos is a carcinogen that can be released into the air if burned, Maier said. Although it is difficult to estimate the risk the small amount of asbestos that was burned in Norment dorm posed to those in the area, Maier said that “asbestos is harmful to health, and people shouldn’t be exposed to it.”

Local resident Jerry Papania, who lives next door to the Norment site, has concerns about the process that is being used to abate the toxic substance found in the building.

“People need to be aware that environmental regulations intended to protect the public don’t always work and citizens need to be proactive” about getting answers to their concerns, Papania said last week. “There needs to be accountability for this.”

Over the summer, according to the college press release, the Antioch University Board of Trustees approved the demolition of Norment dorm on the corner of Davis and President Streets. The building was built in 1900 with Transite siding, a material containing asbestos.

Acting in accordance with the asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act criteria, Antioch hired Tackett Environmental Services, Inc. to survey the building and establish a plan to dispose of 230 lineal feet of siding and a small amount of asbestos which lined pipes in the building. According to Mike Miller, director of Antioch College physical plant facilities planning, the college then used Keen & Cross Environmental Services, Inc., a state licensed asbestos hazard abatement contractor, to execute the disposal and ship the materials to the Bavarian landfill, an approved landfill for hazardous waste in Walton, Kentucky. The college then employed a third party, Intron Laboratories, to perform a final inspection and post-abatement air sampling.

The Miami Township Fire-Rescue squad received a permit for a controlled burn from Greene County, and on Nov. 18 the squad executed a controlled burn of the building for training purposes.

After the building was burned, the abatement team found approximately 15 feet of asbestos-insulated piping which had not been detected earlier because it was concealed behind a wall in the basement, Miller said. But according to Maier, RAPCA was notified of the additional asbestos by a complaint lodged by a private citizen. The college then consulted with RAPCA’s asbestos abatement coordinator to establish a final abatement plan for the Norment site.

Asbestos was also found in the rubble post-demolition, which means some of the asbestos was probably burned, Maier said. The rubble is currently being treated as asbestos-containing waste and taken to an appropriate landfill.

Papania feels the asbestos-covered piping that the contractors found post-demolition should have been detected during the initial cleanup process. If asbestos was found on pipes that were visible, it is reasonable to assume that asbestos would also be on the pipes in the wall, floor and ceiling cavities as well, he said.

According to Miami Township Assistant Fire Chief Denny Powell, the college and the contractors appeared to have executed the hazardous material removal “by the book.” The asbestos found post-demolition was understandably difficult to locate because it was buried under the building walls and in a location one would not expect to find piping, he said.

Contact: lheaton@ysnews.com