Marshall N.C. Cited for Asbestos Violations

The North Carolina Department of Labor, which regulates asbestos removal and remediation within the state, has cited the town of Marshall (Madison County) in the west central part of the state on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains, for several serious violations of the asbestos code.

The violations took place between December 1, 2008 and March 5, 2009, and revolve around a town hall remodeling project. Marshall's town hall, like the city itself, is over 100 years old and was built during an era when asbestos was commonly used in many products.

The notification, issued June 5 of this year, reports that the town board, which was responsible for directing the renovation, failed to: hire a qualified entity to identify the presence, location and quantity of asbestos present in the building; regulate the work; provide respiratory protection equipment for workers or direct them in its use; remove debris by the accepted practice of wetting; prevent workers from dry-sweeping and shoveling debris.

The violations were first noticed by Katherine Bond, an architect who offered to provide some input during the renovation. When work commenced without an asbestos inspection or appropriate safety equipment, Bond notified the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Division, which showed up in April of 2009 to determine if asbestos had, in fact, been improperly removed from the historic town hall building during its 10-month renovation.

Bond also reported that Marshall Public Works employees had expressed to her their concerns about being asked to remove old floor tiles without an inspection and without appropriate safety equipment. The floor tiles were in the old Department of Social Services building, a part of the town hall complex located at 180 S. Main Street.

In N. Carolina, as in many states, asbestos-containing material must first be identified, then removed, by a licensed asbestos remediation firm or individual, and air quality tests conducted, before any other work commences that might disturb such material.

Asbestos, a mineral found in natural rock formations, was mined and used in materials such as insulation, floor and ceiling (acoustical) tiles, and tile adhesives up to the middle of the last century. In 1989, the Environmental Protection Agency banned its use in domestically manufactured products in any amount exceeding one percent. This ban reflected a growing awareness, and concern, that asbestos was a toxic substance that caused asbestosis (a respiratory illness), lung cancer and mesothelioma, a particularly lethal cancer of mesothelial tissues in the lungs and abdomen that typically lies dormant for several decades before emerging. Most patients diagnosed with mesothelioma are given less than 18 months to live. Asbestos is the only known cause of mesothelioma.

Responsibility for failing to document the presence of asbestos, and its removal via unsafe and unorthodox practices, has fallen to Marshall Alderman Luther Nix, who - according to Mayor Lawrence Ponder - insisted on removing the floor tile to lay carpet against the advice of Bond, who told the city council the carpet should be laid over the tile to prevent possible asbestos disturbance.

According to Ponder, Nix was fully responsible for overseeing the renovations. Nix has declined to defend himself against the charges, insisting only that his actions were designed to help the people, and the town, of Marshall. Reports indicate that the town hall renovation is not the only time the city council in this small town has been divided against itself.

If proof is provided that the renovations failed to examine for asbestos, or removed it in an unsafe manner, the town is on the hook for $1,750 in fines. But this $1,750 may not represent the town's total liability, as Public Works employees may later discover they have contracted asbestos-related illnesses and sue for damages. In fact, these legacy liabilities, appearing years and even decades after exposure to asbestos, are the cause of many business and municipal bankruptcies, the first and most notable being the Johns-Manville Corporation, a company which manufactured insulation and was forced to restructure under Chapter 11 when its legacy costs for asbestos injury dealt a killing blow in 1982.

The Marshall city council has until June 24 to respond to the charges and provide some proof that the materials removed did not contain asbestos.

Source: Asheville Citizen-Times

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