Asbestos Inspections Underway in Illinois County Courthouse

Asbestos abatement specialists will be inspecting the Knox County, Illinois, courthouse to appraise the cost of removing the dangerous substance from the old building prior to its demolition. County officials will also be meeting in Galesburg, a small town two hundred miles southwest of Chicago, to discuss plans to move the county government's business to new facilities and to go over demolition plans for the current site.

A group of asbestos removal consultants will ascertain the requirements and expenses involved in the project to remove asbestos from the Knox County Courthouse while complying with state and federal environmental and worker safety protocols. The county board's building committee selected Johnson Building Systems to conduct the bidding process among five potential subcontractors for the job.

The task of selecting a bid promises to be a lengthy one, according to county board members, but the detail required to insure the protection of both workers on the job and the general public calls for intense scrutiny and provisions for all potential outcomes. The first part of the process involved the consultants conducting on-site inspections of the facilities, determining the composition, location and status of the building's asbestos-containing materials, and creating a safe and effective disposal plan for the contaminated debris.

After a weeks-long evaluation period and a unanimous vote from the county board building committee, Graves Environmental put in the low bid and won the job to carry out a total assessment of the level of asbestos contamination found in the courthouse. After consultants with Graves complete their report, the county will create the plans needed to deal with removing the asbestos and taking down the old building.

Some of the asbestos removal work at the site has already started, according to county board member Paul Stewart. He also said that, while some areas of the site have already undergone asbestos abatement, officials are still uncertain as to how much work will go into completing the task for the entire structure. Most of the substances that have already been taken out of the building include ceiling insulation and floor tiles. Inspection crews with Graves and Johnson will determine the level of effort and costs involved in removed the asbestos insulation around the building's plumbing system.

Once the county board receives the reports from the inspectors, they can determine if any efforts at renovating the building would be cost-effective. At present, the entire site has need of other repair and rebuilding issues apart from the asbestos contamination. The current structure also does not have adequate office space to house many of the county government agencies and judicial offices in place. Depending on the price of the asbestos removal project, the board may decide either to refurbish the structure and move county offices into temporary buildings, or demolish the site and relocate to a different permanent space.

The asbestos inspections are scheduled to start early next month. No date has been announced as to when the Graves crews will submit their report. As the county plans to continue with the asbestos abatement process, they have yet to determine if they will re-bid the full cleanup project.

Sources: Peoria Journal Star, Justice Flash News

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