Lockport, New York – According to Niagara County Manager Jeffrey M Glatz, the complete removal of asbestos materials from Shaw Building’s basement crawl space is expected to cost approximately $690000. This tab has been included in the estimated cost of $100,000, which had been assigned previously for the whole county response to a 2015 May incident in which some welfare crew removed asbestos pieces on the basement without taking any safety measures or using protective devices such as respirators. The county was then cited by the state department of labor for 8 serious violations. The citations were issued following an investigation conducted by the department inspectors.
The contractor hired for the job is Niagara Falls-based Mark Cerrone Incorporated. According to Mar Bull, Mark Cerrone’s project manager, the company charges $64000 for removing 2500 linear feet of asbestos-containing piping insulation. The total area of the crawl space is 6000 sq. ft.
Work begins on Monday. It is expected to last till 18th September, though Bull thinks it could be finished sooner. Other companies involved in the project are 56 Svc of Buffalo and Paradigm Environmental Svc of Grand Island. 56 Svc is the air monitor and Paradigm Environmental is the material testing laboratory.
Some doors of the rear side of the building will be off-limits at the time of the project, according to the project manager. The building houses the county Health Department and the Mental Health Department.
Asbestos, a mineral occurring in the nature as numerous fiber bundles, is a known human carcinogen. As the dangerous nature of this mineral was not completely known until the 1980s, asbestos was abundantly used as a construction material. It was also added to many other commercial products because of its low cost and useful features like heat-resistance, fire-resistance, electricity-resistance, corrosion resistance, excellent tensile strength, durability, flexibility etc. However, once its hazards became known, government agencies started regulating this mineral. The use of asbestos has been totally banned in several countries. However, the U.S. has not banned the material completely. But those who deal with asbestos are supposed to follow the federal and state safety regulations.
Asbestos removal is a costly process and requires more time than other general construction works. Asbestos should be handled in such a way that it won’t be disturbed or broken. Exposure to disturbed asbestos could result in fatal diseases including cancer.
