TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - It's another sign of the current tough economic times. Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm says her state can no longer afford the high cost of asbestos inspections of buildings that are slated for renovation or demolition. Asbestos is a known carcinogen that is commonly found in building materials used in the construction of older residential and commercial structures, and because of the extreme toxicity of the substance, proper handling and disposal of the material is critical when it comes to minimizing health risks associated with exposure to airborne asbestos fibers.
Anytime an older building is torn down or undergoes extensive renovations, the possibility of asbestos fibers being released into the environment is quite high. At the present time, Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) oversees an inspection program designed to alert builders to the presence of asbestos, and the agency is also responsible for the enforcement of strict asbestos handling and disposal regulations that call for substantial fines (and possible prison time) for intentional violators of those rules. The problem is, the DEQ's asbestos inspection and enforcement program is expensive, costing the state $350,000 annually, though, $100,000 of that amount is covered by a federal grant.
If Gov. Granholm has her way, as is outlined in her proposed budget, the DEQ will eliminate the asbestos inspection/enforcement plan and turn those duties over to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Environmentalist critics of Granholm's plan say that the asbestos program is badly needed, and that they don't trust the EPA to do a competent job of protecting the public's health. Critics also say that $250,000 is but a tiny fraction of the DEQ's $341 million budget, and because of the extreme toxicity of asbestos, this is one of the last programs the state should eliminate to help reduce Michigan's projected 2010 deficit of $1.4 billion or more.
Asbestos was once considered to a wonder material because of its numerous desirable qualities. The naturally occurring silicate mineral is virtually fireproof, has a high tensile strength, superior resistance to harsh corrosive chemicals, excellent thermal and electrical current insulating characteristics and more. Asbestos can be found in the soil or in above ground geologic rock formations in countries around the world, and while asbestos exists in a variety of types, colors, and chemical compositions, certain types of exposures to asbestos in any form can pose a dire threat to human health.
Once embraced by countless industries, asbestos found its way into hundreds of products that many people continue to be exposed to every day. Asbestos was used widely by the building products industry, and millions of older structures in the United States were built using asbestos-containing materials. When many of these building materials are disturbed, microscopic asbestos fibers can be released into the air where, if inhaled into the lungs, they can cause serious respiratory illnesses decades after the exposure. Asbestos fibers can cause a number diseases, including malignant pleural mesothelioma, a deadly and incurable form of cancer.
DEQ spokesman Robert McCann says the agency has no choice. "You can discuss scaling it back, but at a certain point you can't do that anymore, and you have to cut entire programs," said McCann. "We don't want to do it. There's obviously a value in remediating the asbestos in these old buildings."
Proponents of the Governor's plan to eliminate the state program point to the fact that the EPA handled Michigan's asbestos-related functions for over a decade back in the 1980s, and only ceased doing so when the state volunteered to take over the federal government agency's duties. It remains to be seen whether or not Michigan's State House and Senate members will go along with the governor's budget recommendation.
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