EPA working at the Big Tex site testing for asbestos

San Antonio, TX – Safety crews wearing full-body, protective suits and breathing apparatuses are working to determine how much asbestos remains at the old Big Tex site, a stretch of metal buildings located in the King William neighborhood.

The Environmental Protection Agency sent its crews to the abandoned site, which gets it name from the grain company which previously occupied the site. However, the reason why the federal government has its attention on the Big Tex site is because the facilities were once home to another high profile company.

W.R. Grace & Co., a specialty chemicals and materials company, over the years has faced more than 250,000 lawsuits from victims and families of deceased victims who contracted asbestos-related lung cancer. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2001 due to an overwhelming spike in the number of unexpected number of cases arising.

According to federal court documents, Grace & Co. is responsible for sending millions of tons of vermiculite ore, which company officials knew contained tremolite asbestos, from its Libby, Montana mine to about 200 locations in the U.S. The site in San Antonio, which operated from 1961 to 1989, was at one time one of the company’s largest plants.

The asbestos assessment is part of a grand project intended to transform the neglected land into a multimillion-dollar mixed-use development. Developers first need to verify the amount of asbestos on the site before they start the abatement process.

Crews will be at the site until the end of the week, punching hundreds of holes in the site and taking dirt samples for testing. Results won’t come back for several weeks.

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