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Asbestos in fire debris slows down recovery effort
Published: December 28, 2007
Asbestos discovered in the debris of the Lorraine Apartments fire does not pose a health hazard to firefighters or to neighbors of the site, but will slow the recovery process now taking place, officials said.
The state Department of Environmental Protection tested for asbestos after visible signs of its use were spotted by officials at the site, according to the agency's spokesman, Joe Ferson. Tests came back positive.
Asbestos, a group of minerals with long, thin fibrous crystals, has been known for centuries for its fire-retardant and insulating properties. Its use became very popular in the 19th century for items such as heating pipe insulation, making it particularly common in older buildings.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, while asbestos is not harmful when the item it's part of is intact, once it is broken down and the fibers become airborne, inhaling them can cause disease and illness, including lung cancer.
Because water was used to fight the fire late Dec. 14, the asbestos is saturated and has not become airborne, Ferson said, and is therefore not a risk to workers and neighbors. People working in the sifting operation, which was suspended again yesterday because of the weather, are wearing hazardous-material protection suits as a precaution.
Workers did begin limited clearing and mobilized heavy equipment yesterday, said state Fire Marshal spokeswoman Jennifer Mieth. With the weather conditions, she said she could not determine how long the search would take and did not know if there was a time limit on it.
Officials are searching for the body of Robert Taylor, the 70-year-old resident of the Lorraine who lost his life in the blaze after firefighters' heroic attempt to rescue him from his third-floor apartment. Officials have said that it is unusual for the search for a body to take this long, and that they are hoping to find teeth and bones.
"One of the complicating conditions is the way that the debris must be removed because it's contaminated with asbestos," Mieth said.
Ferson said that in order to keep the asbestos from becoming a problem, workers would use a water suppression technique to keep it wet. The Department of Environmental Protection will also continue to monitor the air quality to ensure that contamination doesn't occur.
Firefighters were not at risk for inhaling the chemicals through smoke, according to Ferson. He said that the smoke itself would pose a graver health risk, and that the firefighters should have been equipped with masks to combat the problem. Fire Chief Barry McKay could not be reached for comment.
The state Department of Environmental Protection tested for asbestos after visible signs of its use were spotted by officials at the site, according to the agency's spokesman, Joe Ferson. Tests came back positive.
Asbestos, a group of minerals with long, thin fibrous crystals, has been known for centuries for its fire-retardant and insulating properties. Its use became very popular in the 19th century for items such as heating pipe insulation, making it particularly common in older buildings.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, while asbestos is not harmful when the item it's part of is intact, once it is broken down and the fibers become airborne, inhaling them can cause disease and illness, including lung cancer.
Because water was used to fight the fire late Dec. 14, the asbestos is saturated and has not become airborne, Ferson said, and is therefore not a risk to workers and neighbors. People working in the sifting operation, which was suspended again yesterday because of the weather, are wearing hazardous-material protection suits as a precaution.
Workers did begin limited clearing and mobilized heavy equipment yesterday, said state Fire Marshal spokeswoman Jennifer Mieth. With the weather conditions, she said she could not determine how long the search would take and did not know if there was a time limit on it.
Officials are searching for the body of Robert Taylor, the 70-year-old resident of the Lorraine who lost his life in the blaze after firefighters' heroic attempt to rescue him from his third-floor apartment. Officials have said that it is unusual for the search for a body to take this long, and that they are hoping to find teeth and bones.
"One of the complicating conditions is the way that the debris must be removed because it's contaminated with asbestos," Mieth said.
Ferson said that in order to keep the asbestos from becoming a problem, workers would use a water suppression technique to keep it wet. The Department of Environmental Protection will also continue to monitor the air quality to ensure that contamination doesn't occur.
Firefighters were not at risk for inhaling the chemicals through smoke, according to Ferson. He said that the smoke itself would pose a graver health risk, and that the firefighters should have been equipped with masks to combat the problem. Fire Chief Barry McKay could not be reached for comment.
Neighbors and nearby businesses, most of which have reopened, are not at risk for airborne asbestos right now, Ferson said. Sawyer Free Library is scheduled to reopen at 8:30 this morning, delayed from its original opening date of Dec. 21. Acting Director Carol Gray said that a thorough cleaning and testing process was behind the delay, and not concerns about asbestos.
Rick Doucette, executive director at Cape Ann YMCA, directly across the street from the rubble, said that he hadn't heard any warnings about asbestos from any officials. The YMCA reopened last week after an air quality test came back clean Dec. 18. Doucette said that the three-part test included one for airborne particles.
