Far more asbestos at old Big Tex site than expected
The asbestos cleanup of the old Big Tex site in San Antonio, Texas is still on track to be finished by Christmas, but the job is much bigger than originally expected. Federal crews with the EPA are excavating soil to remove asbestos and other environmental contamination and open the way to redevelopment of the site. Testing during the cleanup has shown far more areas of contamination than were noted in the initial testing. Crews will continue to test as they work to ensure that all asbestos is removed from the Big Tex site.
As noted in a previous story, the old Big Tex facility was used for nearly three decades as a vermiculite processing plant. W.R. Grace & Co. shipped 100,000 tons of asbestos-contaminated vermiculite to the facility from its mine outside Libby, Montana. It was one of the biggest vermiculite processing facilities in the country.
Early next year, W.R. Grace and six of the company’s current and former executives will go to trial on criminal charges for their part in exposing the residents of Libby, Montana to the asbestos-containing ore. Hundreds of Libby residents have fallen ill with mesothelioma and asbestosis because of their exposure to the contaminated vermiculite.
For the full story, go to MySanAntonio.com.
