Dealing with asbestos contaminated buildings can surely put a damper on construction and renovation business. Also, it is very risky to deal with such buildings, as they can cost up to the entire small town’s budget not to mention the health hazards they possess to the population. “It was dangerous, but we couldn’t afford to do anything with it. It was mind-boggling,” said Mayor Jim Johnson.
The officials of Deer Trails, a small town, ran into a big problem when they decided to demolish a crumbling old building that was found to be contaminated with asbestos, a deadly carcinogen. The structure in question is the century-old Schindler building that never recovered from a 1965 flood and cannot be left standing any more due to asbestos threat nor cleaned up as the entire budget for its cleaning can exceed the whole town’s budget.
The demolishing of this building in Deer Trails began last year by a contractor but it was stopped when the building was discovered to be polluted with asbestos. This natural mineral was used in construction here till the 1980’s as a fire proof material.
On the Eastern plain, many building are asbestos contaminated and would eventually undergo demolition. However, it is very costly to clean up the asbestos contaminated buildings in a small town with proper technical cleanup equipment. “There’s a crying need out there,” said Mark Walker of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. “There’s no cheap way for small towns to dispose off asbestos safely, and there’s no money.”
During the last months, contractors masked the left over of Schindler building with plastic sheets and cleared the walls of the fellow buildings from asbestos-laden debris and plaster. Now, when the site is standing vacant, it will be sold to a commercial buyer.
