Keyser, W. Va. - When the Railsyde Tavern burned to the ground in the fall of 2008, the charred remains of the structure created an eyesore for the town, as well as the potential for citizen exposures to asbestos, a known cancer-causing agent. The large pile of tavern debris was suspected of containing asbestos contaminated building materials that could pose a significant health hazard if disturbed during any cleanup operation. As a result, no one was exactly sure as to how the removal of the burned debris should proceed.
Once popular with a wide variety of manufacturing industries, asbestos is a mineral that exists in various chemical composition, color, and type forms. Asbestos can be commonly found in the soil or in exposed outcroppings in numerous countries around the globe, though, many of those nations have banned the use of asbestos due to significant health risks associated with exposures to the extremely hazardous material. In the 1970s, numerous scientific investigations confirmed the fact that microscopic asbestos fibers, once inhaled into the lungs, could eventually lead to serious respiratory illness.
Researchers discovered that asbestos fibers could remain in the lungs for up to 50 years before finally causing the onset of diseases such as malignant pleural mesothelioma, a dreaded and aggressive cancer killer for which there exists no cure. As a result, the citizens of Keyser were rightly concerned about the tavern's cleanup resulting in significant amounts of asbestos fibers being introduced into the environment.
The fire that destroyed the Railsyde was declared an act of arson by the fire department that also declared that the skeletal remains of the structure to be unsafe, and as a result, they used a bulldozer to knock down the structure and consolidate the debris into a single pile on the property. The property owners had begun a further cleanup of the site when they were halted in their actions by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The DEP became involved because of its concerns that the building's debris might contain asbestos.
If the presence of asbestos had been confirmed, cleanup of the site would have to be performed under strictly controlled, DEP approved procedures that would greatly increase the costs of the cleanup project. The DEP's concerns about the presence of asbestos at the corner of Armstrong and North Davis Street site soon spread to the residents of Keyser, many of whom wondered if the months-long neglected ruins would become a long-standing part of the landscape if the presence of asbestos was confirmed. Proper asbestos abatement procedures could cost tens of thousands of dollars, money the owners might not wish to spend as it could conceivably be more than the value of the property.
In a worse case scenario, government officials had already considered allowing the town to perform the tavern cleanup, subsequent to which the town would place a lien on the property, allowing it to possibly recoup its expenditures if the land were ever sold.
Keyser residents were pleased to learn that the owners of the burned tavern had recently applied for a permit to effect a cleanup of the site. News of the permit application came from City Administrator, Deborah Pamepinto, who told town residents, "The owners have moved on it, finally. It's good news," Pamepinto was pleased to add, "Fortunately, the owners appeared at city hall last week with the results of a DEP approved environmental survey that gave the site a clean bill of health." Much to the relief of all involved, the cleanup procedures the owners had already started will now be permitted to resume at the site.
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