Truck Hit Causes Asbestos Exposure, Destruction of Classroom and Teacher’s Work of 20 Years

Massive amount of asbestos was released when a truck hit through the wall of Northampton Primary School earlier this year destroying a classroom. The truck caused asbestos discharge, wasting 20 years’ work of a teacher. Each and every item in the classroom has to be replaced as it was contaminated with asbestos and was dangerous for the pupils. The teacher burst into tears when she came to know about her hard work being wasted.

The crash caused a lot of damage to the school building that is estimated to be more than £7,844. Although the monetary loss would be covered yet the loss to the teacher and the pupils cannot be covered up. David Bush aged 21, of Stanley Street, Semilong, is cited as causing the accident when he crashed the hot wired the truck into the school building. He was convicted in a trial at Northampton Magistrates’ Court for illegally smashing the truck into the school building causing damages.

It was mentioned in the court that the classroom became contaminated with asbestos because of the damage done by the truck hitting the wall. The toxic fibers of asbestos were released all over the room, after the truck shattered the asbestos insulation board.

“The head teacher was working inside the premises when he heard a loud bang. He thought it was workmen at the school, as building work was taking place at the school at the time,” Abigail Turner, the prosecuting attorney told the magistrates. She also remarked, according to her investigation, that the truck was being used for building work at the school. While the trial was proceeding, Bush admitted that he was driving the truck but denied the damage for which he was accused. He claimed that after he started the engine, another person drove the car and Bush jumped in the truck to save it from the hitting the classroom.

Nonetheless, the magistrate declared that his version of the story could not be believed and sentenced him, after he argued in the entire trial that he did not cause the damage. Asbestos is a natural mineral that can lead to mesothelioma and other cancerous diseases if it is inhaled. It has also been declared as a legitimate cause of death by the US government; thus anyone causing damage to general health of public through asbestos is liable to a punishment by the state.

Demolition of Buildings in Small Town Faces Problems Due To Asbestos Contamination

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.

Inspection of Boston’s Steam Pipe Orders by Mayor after Two Explosions

Boston Mayor Tom Menino has instructed to conduct an extensive inspection for the city’s steam pipe system. The city’s steam pipes are about 22 miles long, which are old and unregulated.

This sudden decision was announced after two recent explosions occurred in the main city at the intersection of Otis Street and Summer Street near Downtown Crossing in September and New Chardon Street in October. The explosions discharged asbestos dust in the air. Three Trigen workers and one pedestrian are reportedly contaminated with asbestos, which was liberated when the pipe burst at the intersection of Otis Street and Summer Street.

At the New Chardon St. pipe burst too, steam was discharged that sent a manhole flying and led to asbestos exposure.

The cause of pipe burst has been ascertained by the authorities. Jim Hunt, Chief of Environment and Energy claims, “These two events do appear to be isolated as a result of water getting in to their steam system creating increase in pressure”. The water increases the pressure, which exceeds the capacitance pressure limit of the pipe. Water in the steam pipes can be collected in the pipes in many ways also including condensation, which can cause tremendous amount of pressure buildup in the pipes.

Two weeks have been given to steam energy supplier, Trigen, to completely inspect all city’s manholes. Trigen has agreed to use the most advanced applications for detecting any trouble in the steam engines. “They will be soon conducting an aerial flyover using infrared heat detection technology to see if there are any steam leaks that they have not been able to see with a visual inspection of the system. They doing some extensive manhole inspections, as well,” Hunt said.

The Mayor, Menino, has filed a legislation that would help the steam pipe suppliers to control their job wisely.

Asbestos Cleanup Completed Along the Nashua River

According to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the US, the half-acre site beside Nashua River, next to the city library, has been cleaned up after digging 95 tons of asbestos contaminated soil. It took almost three week to clean asbestos completely from the riverside soil. Some special type of cloth and at least six inches of fresh soil was used to cover the area after the cleanup.

Throughout the area of Nashua and Hudson, a legacy of the Johns Manville Plant on Bridge Street, high levels of asbestos are present. The company actually supplied leftover asbestos to people who want the material for construction purpose, as it is commonly used for building fireproof building, roads, parks and parking lots for seven decades. Due to this, asbestos remains kept on been accumulating and were becoming more and more dangerous with the passage of time posing the risk of mesothelioma cancer and other deadly diseases to residents of the area.

It was discovered that the asbestos fibers were being released from the contaminated soil, which can cause mesothelioma if inhaled. After the investigations concluded that presence of asbestos was becoming airborne by erosion and mowing, the EPA team jumped in to clean this deadly toxic from the river bank.

The estimated cost for the clean up work was around $140,000, which was taken under control of EPA’s Emergency Response Program in New England.

It has been known that the south side of the Nashua River has been contaminated since long. It was discovered when a walkway was built, next to the library a decade ago. But, when the extent and dangers of asbestos were estimated, the EPA hastened with the cleanup process.