Demo plan

A local asbestos-testing expert says that instances of houses being demolished without proper asbestos abatement are probably happening more than most people think. Also, he said, his own company has been fraudulently listed as an asbestos inspector on paperwork that demolition contractors supply to the state.

Phil Peterson, who manages asbestos and environmental hygiene services with Fibertec, a firm in Holt that does asbestos testing, said that most demolition contractors follow state and federal regulations before demolishing a structure, but some smaller firms may not know the rules.

“It’s probably happening a lot more than we would wish,” Peterson said.

Peterson said that in the past three years, Fibertec has been called twice by state officials inquiring about an asbestos test on a structure slated for demolition. But Fibertec had not been hired to do the asbestos testing.

“If it’s happening to me, it could be happening to other folks,” Peterson said.

City Pulse reported last week that demolition began on a house at 806 N. Cedar St. in Lansing without required asbestos testing. The house was being torn down under the city of Lansing’s “make safe or demolish” process, which the city uses to remove unsafe structures.

The city of Lansing, according to its demolition contract, requires that structures it orders demolished be checked for asbestos — but the city leaves it up to the contractor to ensure this happens.

Demolition contractors are required to give the state Department of Natural Resources and the Environment and the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration 10 days’ notice before tearing down a structure.

According to documents provided by the DNRE, the department did not receive a 10-day notice for 806 N. Cedar from the demolition contractors, Youngstrom Contracting, until March 23. City officials said demolition on the house began March 17.

Accordingto city contracts, the bid that went out to demolish 806 N. Cedarincluded two other houses: 1619 Bailey St. and 825 Clayton St. RobertMcCann, a spokesman for the state Department of Natural Resources, saidthe agency had not received a demolition notice for either of thoseproperties, but the home on Bailey Street did not require one becauseit was an emergency demolition.

Stateregulators say they either check up on asbestos notifications randomlyor are referred to a site, often by other agencies. Robert Pawlowski,director of MIOSHA’s construction safety and health division, said thatbetween Oct. 1 2008, and Sept. 30 2009, the department checked on 123demolition sites to ensure that asbestos removal notifications werebeing followed. Of those, the department did 48, 31 were fromcomplaints, and 26 were referrals from other agencies. The department,which has two and one half employees devoted to inspections, issued 148citations during those inspections.

Pawlowski said he did not know how many demolitions were done across the state in that period.

“Theactivity has increased because of stimulus money,” Pawlowski said,referring to federal stimulus money being given to cities to buybank-owned properties, some of which will be demolished. On March 31, amassive federally funded effort to tear down 3,000 unsafe homes inDetroit was stopped because proper paperwork related to asbestosremoval was not filed with the DNRE. Lansing is set to tear down 250homes north of Mt. Hope Avenue with federal money, though LansingPlanning and Neighborhood Development Director Bob Johnson said thatthe city plans to do environmental assessments beforehand.

DaveSuty, president of Asbestos Abatement Inc. in Lansing, said that it istypical to find asbestos in homes built before 1980 in pipes, ductwork,floor tiles, drywall, insulation and siding. The cost to removeasbestos in a typical home, he said, could be as little as $50 up intothe hun dreds of dollars.

“You’ve got to open up all the cavities in a house and everything must be identified prior to demolition,” he said.

Petersonsaid that many factors determine the cost of asbestos testing, but fora typical house, it could range from $500 to $750. Peterson said thatit would be hard to tell how much asbestos was released from ademolition, if any, without knowing more about the house.

Thecity of Lansing is not alone in having a demolition process thatoversees environmental contaminates. According to the MichiganMunicipal League, of nine cities that have demolition ordinances —Grand Rapids, Bad Axe, Zeeland, Springfield, Portage, Montrose,Kingsford, Fraser and Dearborn Heights — none specify that asbestos orother environmental contaminates must be removed prior to demolition.Under Lansing Township’s demolition ordinance, the property owner mustprovide a sworn affidavit stating that he has no knowledge of hazardous materials in the property, asbestos or other.

SteveHayward, Lansing Township’s planning director, said the ordinance wasput in place when the township realized that former General MotorsCorp. factories would be demolished. But the ordinance stillencompasses any entity tearing down a structure, including thegovernment. Hayward said that the township has only torn down twoproperties in the last three years, but it did a “stringent” demolitionplan with the contractor to comply with the ordinance.

“We don’t want to be in a situation where our action is detrimental (to neighbors),” Hayward said.