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Four million pounds of asbestos waste taken away from Oregon site
In Sweet Home, Oregon, over 4 million pounds of asbestos-laden debris has been removed from the cleanup site located at the former Willamette Industries sawmill property. The cleanup efforts, which are being coordinated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, were scheduled to take place over the course of four weeks.
The 153-acre site is owned by Western States Land Reliance Trust. Demolition of the former mill began two years ago, but was brought to a halt when large quantities of asbestos were uncovered at the site. Piles of asbestos-laden debris from the 2007 demolition effort were left exposed and uncovered, potentially raising the risk of asbestos exposure.
Asbestos exposure can lead to many health problems. When inhaled or ingested, the tiny airborne asbestos fibers may cause mesothelioma, a rare form of incurable cancer that affects the abdominal cavity.
Project coordinator Dan Heister was pleased that the work was completed a day early, but stated that the project was over budget. "I'm going to do my final site walk today and we've already had site walks with the city and Department of Environmental Quality folks," Heister said last Thursday.
"We had a few situations that surprised us. We found an underground pipe vault that was filled with asbestos, but we were able to contain it and fill it...We knocked down the older west kiln, we abated the asbestos, got all of the asbestos-containing materials out of there and slowly brought the walls down."