The Chattanooga demolition company hired to demolish the old Pepperell High School says it acted responsibly and denied implications of illegal dumping.
Meanwhile state and local environmental inspectors are trying to sort through an estimated 300 truckloads of construction debris that was dumped at Otting & Sons junkyard to determine how much asbestos, if any, was buried under 2 feet of soil.
The site of the new high school, however, has been declared safe for students and teachers to begin class on Tuesday, said Kevin Chambers, a spokesperson for the state Environmental Protection Division.
According to information from the Floyd County Board of Education, the school system removed all asbestos material from the school’s property and had it hauled away in March to a suitable landfill in Rockmart, said Bob Puckett, assistant superintendent of county schools.
Based on chain of custody documents the school system has kept, Puckett said, “We will be able to show that we disposed of everything properly.” EPD tests indicated the presence of asbestos at the dumpsite. A separate test ordered by the school system came up negative for asbestos, Puckett said.
“When all of this is over with, it will be shown that Floyd County Schools did what they were supposed to do,” he said, noting that asbestos removal was done a long time before demolition, “so there is no chance of cross contamination.”
Brian Roberts, environmental investigator with Rome-Floyd Building Inspection, said the asbestos contamination is secondary compared to the improper dumping.
Ra-Lin & Associates, the building contractor that has refused comment on the issue, hired HBJ Corporation of Chattanooga to demolish the school and carry off all rubble.
HBJ should have used a construction and demolition site like the one found at the Walker Mountain Landfill, Chambers said.
But rather than drive a few miles out of the way, the company used Otting junkyard, which was less than one mile away.
Jimmy Thornton, demolition supervisor for HBJ, said he was aware of the Walker Mountain Landfill, but “it was six miles away.”
If HBJ had used the landfill, the company would have likely paid between $30,000 and $75,000 in tipping fees, said Kirk Milam, Rome’s public works director.
Thornton said an old man in the neighborhood recommended Otting’s junkyard as a good dumpsite.
“I don’t want HBJ to get a black eye, because we’ve done nothing wrong,” said Billy Higley, owner of the demolition company. “I don’t want us to be seen as some fly-by-night operation that dumps asbestos in the woods.”
Since the dumping issue came up, Ra-Lin has not paid HBJ for its $160,000 in services, Higley said.
Higley said the company notified an environmental investigator with the county police to acquire the proper permits, but Roberts said the proper protocol is to come to him for the three required permit applications.
Otting verbally allowed HBJ to dump for free on its property as long as it smoothed out the area and capped it with 2 feet of soil, Higley said.
He said Jerry Sexton, a former environmental investigator with the county, visited the site. Sexton could not be reached for comment Friday.
Roberts said a demolition company with any experience would have known the correct permits to obtain and would have known of proper landfills.
The building inspector Higley claimed his company talked to, Cal Hicks, said he never talked to the company.
“They called here (after the citations were issued) and told me that if there was any problem to talk to me,” Hicks said. “I’ve been doing this 28 years and I’m not going to tell somebody that.”
WHAT IS ASBESTOS?
Asbestos is the name given to a number of naturally occurring fibrous minerals that are used for insulation, chemical and thermal stability, and high strength. When the microscopic bundles of fibers that make up asbestos become airborne, they can be inhaled into the lungs where they may cause significant health problems. These include lung disease asbestosis, which can scar the lungs so severely that they cannot function; mesothelioma, which is cancer of the lung lining, chest cavity and abdominal wall; lung cancer; and cancer of the gastrointestinal tract. The effects of asbestos exposure often go unnoticed for 15 to 40 years.
Source: Environmental Protection Agency
