Carcinogenic asbestos dumped at work siteHamlin, West Virginia - In Hamlin, West Virginia, asbestos that was dumped on a project site has brought the project to a standstill. Interim Lincoln Economic Development Authority (EDA) Director Larry Stutler is investigating the asbestos find. These asbestos shingles were found buried at the site, and have impacted the ability of the new Tri River Transit building project to move forward.
Thankfully, a $150,000 loan from the county commission was procured, enabling the Tri River project to move forward.
"They needed the loan to pay for that [asbestos] remediation work," said Stutler. "They could not use any of the federal funds they got to do that."
Stutler does not know how the asbestos was not found earlier. "All the necessary due diligence was done," said Stutler. "In fact, E.L. Robinson Engineering did both a Phase I and a Phase II environmental study of the park. They did not find the asbestos. Right now, I'm trying to find out why they didn't."
According to one source, core drilling was done as part of the environmental study. "They just must have somehow missed that exact location," said one anonymous tipster.
Exposure to asbestos poses serious risks to human health, with the most severe illness being the rare cancer mesothelioma. Mesothelioma affects under 3,000 new patients in the United States every year, and that number is expected to grow in the coming decade.. There is no cure, but some patients do temporarily benefit from chemotherapy and other treatments.
"I am still very hopeful about that project, though," Stutler concluded. "I think it will eventually be built."
