Neighborhood residents breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday when asbestos-contaminated construction rubble was hauled away from a nearby lot after two years of debate.
Neighbors watched as workers in bulldozers and dump trucks took care of the debris from the site where asbestos fragments were discovered in 2006. However, authorities debated over whether the waste posed a health risk and if there was a chance that it could drift away from the site.
Officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency assessed the area in December 2006 and stated that the asbestos was not friable, which meant it could not be pulverized into dust and become airborne. Non-friable asbestos does not pose a health risk.
However, both the expert hired by the residents and the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality found friable samples of asbestos when they surveyed the site. A written plan of removal and disposal was then requested.
The asbestos contractor who was hired to supervise the cleanup said that 560 pounds of asbestos debris was cleared from the lot in October of last year and another 60 pounds of material was removed on Wednesday. The waste will be covered and hauled to a landfill approved for construction material.
The final cleanup, which will remove about 40 truckloads of material, is expected to take three additional days. However, due to scheduling, the days will not be consecutive so the project will not be completed for another few weeks.
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