Nashua’s buried asbestos problem
Nashua City Hall in New Hampshire was recently the location of a hearing on asbestos site rules. A spokeswoman for the Solid Waste Bureau in the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services stated that Nashua and Hudson are the two communities that hold most of the state’s asbestos disposal sites. This is a result of the Johns Manville plant that made asbestos-containing fireproof building material for over 70 years. The company had given leftover asbestos to local people to use as clean fill in local construction projects, so the hazardous mineral found its way under buildings, parking lots, roads and parks as filler.
The asbestos fill remains where it is unless it is exposed by erosion, construction or other means. If it does become exposed, trained asbestos abatement contractors must be brought in to clean up the site following the Asbestos Disposal Site Rules. These rules include certain requirements for notification and disclosure, covering, monitoring and maintaining disposal sites, and controlling excavation or other disturbances.
The hearing took place because the Asbestos Disposal Site Rules expire on February 16, 2010 and the agency needs them updated to get reapproved by state legislature. The comment period for the rules closed at the end of November.
For the full story, go to Nashua Telegraph.
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