Activists in the college town of Ithaca, New York are raising serious concerns about whether the planned demolition of a historic library could lead to future mesothelioma diagnoses in their community. The Tompkins Library was originally built in 1867, more than a century before anybody knew that asbestos was a carcinogenic material. In those days, the mineral was used for insulation, as well as mixed in with other materials to ensure strength and resistance to fire. The building has been confirmed to be heavily contaminated with the hazardous material, yet structural weaknesses have led the developer who purchased the building to change their initial plan for remediation to a straightforward demolition, and safety experts say that doing so will spread asbestos fibers into the air and into the community.
Though the library’s current owner, developer Frost Travis of Travis Hyde Properties, has assured local residents that there is a plan in place to keep asbestos dust from spreading into the neighborhoods that surround the building, that has not stopped people from worrying about mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. According to Walter Hang of Toxics Targeting, a substance exposure mapping group, the plan to simply wet down the building as demolition occurs will not spread the fibrous microscopic material from becoming airborne, where it can travel on wind currents and land in people’s homes, in local schools, and more. “It would just be an unbelievable demolition disaster to knock down this building and simply try to wet down this asbestos material in an area which … is the home of thousands of people,” he said.
The original plan was for the building to undergo a thorough asbestos remediation, carefully removing the carcinogenic material which has been linked to mesothelioma. But when the city condemned the building it changed everything. Now the developer fears that workers would be at risk of the building collapsing. The community is asking for the building to be restored enough to make it safe for the remediation to take place, and a petition is currently circulating urging the town’s mayor to take steps to require that process.
While the situation continues to be debated, anybody who has been affected by mesothelioma knows that the concerns being expressed are very real. If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease and you need assistance, contact us today at 1-800-966-2244.
