SUMMERLIN ROAD
Florida environmentalists investigate source of asbestos toxins found at Fort Myers overpass project

Lee County inspectors discovered asbestos along the roadway in late November and ordered work stopped on the new Summerlin Road overpass. Posen Construction is being held responsible for asbestos-tainted land fill at Summerlin, and will be responsible for surveying the entire site as part of its requirements to clean up the area.

FEATURE STORY

December 29, 2009 -- The asbestos that stopped work on the new Summerlin Road overpass — south of Fort Myers, Fla., — may have come from an Imperial Parkway site, according to inspectors with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

The source being investigated includes a pile of old asbestos pipes dumped by Posen Construction on private property two miles north of East Terry Street on the west side of Imperial Parkway.

That’s one of the tips the DEP is investigating as it assesses the extent of alleged asbestos violations at Summerlin.

Lee County, Fla., staff has ordered Posen to remove both the fill and the vertical abutment panels, but won’t let that work begin until the company submits a plan to clean up the site.

A pile of crushed asbestos pipes was found on undeveloped land along Imperial Parkway several months ago. The DEP had ordered the asbestos material properly disposed of, and documents show that some of it was hauled to an appropriate landfill near Lake Okeechobee.

“There have been rumors that material from that property was taken to Summerlin,” said a DEP investigator. These tips came from local residents who are concerned about the dangers of asbestos exposure.

Posen has been fined for asbestos-related violations before. The Michigan company paid a $6,500 fine in January 2008 for not reporting the discovery of asbestos at the Alico Road-Three Oaks Parkway project.

Time to seek justice

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