Beverly Hills, MO - Officials of a St. Louis County fire district are under heat from state and local authorities for potentially improperly removing asbestos from a building and then preventing inspectors from looking into the complaints.
An investigation is under way to verify if the fire officials violated federal and state laws during the renovation of the nearly 5,500 square foot building, recently purchased by fire district. If necessary, the state will request a search warrant to look into matters further, a state official commented.
The St. Louis County Health Department sent notice to the fire district that its officials had violated the law by refusing access to two safety investigators who were sent to the site after complaints were received. The state Department of Natural Resources became involved shortly after hearing about the incident and is now conducting an investigation.
The fire district had purchased the building in November and began conducting board meetings in it soon after. A resident who attended the first public meeting saw what seemed to be broken asbestos-containing floor tiles laying out in the open and warned board directors of it. The resident recognized it because he had hired licensed contractors to remove it from his home before.
At the next meeting, the area had been cleaned up and the tiles were gone. However, residents said they found a trashcan behind the building that was filled to the top with tiles. Worried that the work was done improperly, some of the concerned residents took samples of the tiles which they later submitted to the authorities.
The county has also written another letter to the fire district instructing the officials to halt renovation work and begin testing the building for the presence of asbestos, to which the district replied with a refusal.
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