Catonsville, MD - Residents in the Catonsville neighborhood of Westview Park are concerned for their health after the recent discovery of asbestos at a construction site in their area and are calling for the state government to take action.
The asbestos was found on the construction site of construction company Enterprise Homes, which is currently in works to build a senior affordable housing complex. Residents say the builder has been very accommodating to their needs, volunteering to stop construction work and even testing surrounding homes for the possibility of asbestos presence. Tests have come back with no signs of the substance so far in the homes.
Although satisfied with Enterprise so far, residents are still outraged that the state has openly refused to put in place asbestos safety regulations for the future. The state said he has no current standards in place, but residents point out the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA), federal standards which already exist that the state could and should adopt.
Enterprise has resumed its work since but is no longer crushing the asbestos on site. The company has also set up a website to provide residents with updates on the asbestos situation.
Bill Clark, a county government official, said asbestos regulation shouldn't be the county's responsibility to address. He said the state government should handle it as it concerns many places in the states.
However, the Maryland Department of the Environment seems unwilling to take responsibility, citing that Enterprise's great response has been sufficient in addressing the problem.
The Maryland Department of the Environment, however, said there is no need to mandate asbestos-handling guidelines for companies in light of Enterprise's willingness to remedy the Westview Park situation.
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