Suspicious Material Taken From Burn Site

By ANN S KIM

Environmental remediation workers Wednesday removed material suspected to be asbestos from the remains of an old farmhouse on land that will be used for the city’s new middle school.

The fire department burned the house off Stroudwater Street last month as part of training exercises and overlooked the presence of the material. The state Department of Environmental Protection requires certain materials, including asbestos, to be removed from buildings before controlled burns.

It’s not yet clear whether the DEP will take any action against the city. Lab tests are being performed to determine whether samples from the site are actually asbestos. The results will help determine whether the department will take any enforcement action, said Scott Cowger, a DEP spokesman.

"A lot of factors get taken into account," he said. "If the city did it knowingly, it would be one thing. If they didn’t know, that’s a different situation."

The farmhouse on the former DeWolfe property was used March 29 for live fire training. Fire Chief Gary Littlefield said the building was checked before the exercises for its structural soundness and appliances and for the presence of an oil tank that should be removed and emptied.

"We looked it over and didn’t see it right off," he said. "For some reason we missed it, so there couldn’t have been much."

The DEP became involved after receiving a complaint about the possibility of asbestos and appliances being in the house during the burn. According to DEP documents, the agency notified the city of the complaint, the inspector discussed the need for cleanup and the city agreed to hire a contractor.

According to the incident summary, the deputy fire chief stated that the appliances were moved out of the house before the burn and that he was unsure of the presence of asbestos.

City Engineer Eric Dudley said the presence of the material should have no implications for the construction of the new school, which is scheduled to open in 2010. Officials will break ground on the project next month

"The purpose of doing it is so basically the asbestos there … (doesn’t) become like a dust and blow around," Dudley said.

Mark Coleman, president and owner of Westbrook-based BIOSAFE Environmental, donated the company’s services to the city. Workers were on the site in the morning, and Coleman said they removed about 2 cubic yards of material, mostly pipe cover.

Staff Writer Ann S. Kim can be contacted at 791-6383 or at:

akim@pressherald.com

Originally published by By ANN S. KIM Staff Writer.

(c) 2008 Portland Press Herald. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.