EPA will minimize potential asbestos exposure to Spokane workers and residents

EPA oversight can minimize asbestos exposure for residents.

The attorneys at the personal injury law firm of Weitz & Luxenberg have decades of experience defending victim’s rights in practice areas that include: accidents/general injury, dangerous drugs, medical malpractice, and environmental pollutants.

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Spokane County took precautions to minimize re-suspension of dust on the site during demolition of on-site warehouse buildings in the fall of 2002. The site itself was covered, and the building materials were covered with a slurry that kept the dust down. A large HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) vacuum mounted on a truck vacuumed the ground beneath the structures.

The land is now vacant, so current land use is not likely to disturb soil. Access is also restricted by a perimeter fence, thereby limiting the possibility of current exposures.

Future land use at the site could uncover buried or covered asbestos hot spots. Spokane County, the current owner of the property, has recently demolished the remaining structures on the site, and eventually plans to sell it or convert it to a useful piece of land.

The potential for disturbing unknown quantities of asbestos in on-site soil would exist if redevelopment does occur. EPA investigators have stated that some evidence exists that fill dirt has been placed on the site since 1974. Asphalt has also been placed over some areas on the site, including the area where former workers reported that waste rock was piled.

Disturbing these top layers of soil or destroying asphalt and concrete on the site may uncover more highly contaminated soils and cause asbestos fibers in the soil to become airborne. Workers in these situations will be in close contact with the soil and possibly exposed to hazardous levels of asbestos in air.

Spokane County has agreed to clean the site through the Washington State Department of Ecology’s (Ecology) voluntary cleanup program. This program allows the landowner to clean up the site with input and oversight from Ecology.

In a recent letter from EPA to Spokane County, EPA reported that they: “will seek to assure protection of public health and the environment through the elimination of any pathways for the release or threatened release of asbestos into the environment. In order to minimize potential exposure to asbestos in soil, there will likely be a combination of protection measures such as soil excavation and replacement, physical barriers, and land use controls.”

Proper oversight from EPA and Ecology can effectively minimize future worker and nearby resident’s asbestos exposures related to the site.

Courtesy of the Washington Department of Health