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Mesothelioma News | 2008
Asbestos Worries in Sausalito over VA Construction Work
A construction project near the Bay Model was shut down by Sausalito officials after alarmed residents raised concerns about asbestos exposure while complaining about dust from the weekend work.
A $7 million rehabilitation of the old South Pacific Division Laboratory at 25 Liberty Ship Way is being worked on by the U.S. Department of Veterans to allow for the development of a research center.
Contractors, in doing the work, dressed in hazardous materials suits to begin removing asbestos siding from the two-story, yellow 37,500-square-foot building.
Wind blew dust from the work site into nearby neighborhoods and on boats as the work proceeded, and prompted residents to become concerned. Police and firefighters ordered the work to be stopped after being called to the scene.
Police Chief Scott Paulin said, "There was dust in the air and a layer of dust on nearby boats." The dust also coated the police cars that had arrived.
City officials contacted the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to assess the work site on Monday. An inspector informed the city that the VA's work was in compliance with building regulations and that because the siding, which contained asbestos, was not being broken open, cut, or crushed asbestos could not be released into the air. Asbestos can cause long-term health problems including lung disease and mesothelioma.
It was also reported by the inspector that there was no way to determine what might have been released into the air on Sunday.
The site and work will continue to be monitored by The Bay Area Air Quality Management District and work could start up again by Tuesday.
Judi Cheary, a Veterans Affairs spokeswoman said, "We are following all the proper procedures and are ready to resume work."
Jeremy Graves, the Sausalito Planning Director said that even if it was nothing more than dust and dirt getting blown around, it would have been helpful to receive a warning about the work from the Veterans Affairs office. He said, "We knew nothing about it."
An earlier study of the site's soil and groundwater showed concentrations of asbestos, arsenic and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) according to federal documents, but the site was cleaned.
The work won't be finished at the research center before two years. The VA intends to study a range of topics including cardiac surgery, liver disease, post-traumatic stress and HIV.
The area around the building was developed in the 1870's when the Northwestern Pacific rail yard was built and was also a marshland at one time.
In 1942, the rail yard was replaced with the Marinship ship yard. One of the buildings constructed in the area at the time included a machine shop that later became the laboratory.
The War Assets Administration acquired the Marinship ship yard in 1946 and was subsequently transferred to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1948. In 1950 the geotechnical testing laboratory was created out of the former machine shop and the in the early 1990's analytical laboratory capability was added. In 1997 the laboratory closed and in 2006 was transferred the Department of Veterans Affairs.
