Asbestos & Mesothelioma Alert: Connecticut to clean up its Brownfield sitesHartford, Connecticut - The state of Connecticut will spend nearly $2.3 million to clean up its Brownfield sites, reports Business Week. The cleanup will include asbestos abatement.
The money will prepare properties in six Connecticut municipalities for commercial and residential use. Redeveloping such properties will provide opportunities for more housing, commercial and recreation uses.
Governor M. Jodi Reil noted that Brownfield sites in Hartford, Madison, Meriden, Naugatuck, Putnam and Waterbury will receive the state funding. The money will fund projects such as the construction of warehouse space in Waterbury, cleanup and demolition in Meriden, and lead and asbestos removal in Madison. Hazardous material will also be surveyed in a Naugtuck train station.
Many Brownfield sites are old, and because of this, require asbestos abatement before they may be demolished, or renovated. Asbestos is a highly hazardous material, which, when disturbed, poses as serious health risk to those exposed.
Exposure to the material has been known to cause several diseases, including malignant mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is the most aggressive asbestos-related disease, which most commonly forms from the internal linings of the lung, heart and abdominal cavities.
Because the disease lacks a cure, mesothelioma clinics suggest patients undergo chemotherapy and radiation as forms of treatment. Such treatment, however, tends to arrive in the later stages of the patient’s disease.
Once the asbestos is removed, workers and community residents will be safe. The funding for the cleanup has been provided by the Municipal Brownfield Pilot Program, established in 2006.
