Chaffee Crossing is a small town in Arkansas that is the site of an old U.S. army base recently swept by fire.  The destruction ranged over one hundred acres and destroyed 150 buildings.  There were no human casualties in the fire, but the buildings destroyed were almost certainly sites where asbestos insulation, plumbing fittings and other asbestos-laden materials were used for construction.

The Federal Emergency Management Administration has denied Chafee Crossing federal disaster area status, regardless of the asbestos concerns.  With this development, the area has been denied access to federal funds that would largely finance the cleanup operations, including those of asbestos abatement, which have been estimated at $4.6 million. Local officials say that if the town were forced to foot the bill it would handcuff the local economy for several years.

Part of what is blocking the funding are EPA test performed after the fire which indicated that the asbestos levels were low enough that the site did not qualify for the EPA’s Superfund, which levies fees upon polluters that are redirected back into environmental quality improvements. However, tests performed by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality found asbestos contamination in some areas to be much higher than EPA estimates, potentially endangering citizens in the surrounding area.

Also thwarting the area’s access to federal funds are the target goals of the cleanup. Most of the FEMA funds are reserved for cleanup in addition to rebuilding efforts. Rebuilding is not part of the town’s intentions, as nearly all the buildings destroyed were abandoned several years ago. However, due to their age, nearly all of these structures contained at least some asbestos in their building compounds or other materials.  Another example of some remarkably convoluted circular reasoning from FEMA.

Asbestos is the only known catalyst for the lethal cancer mesothelioma.  Asbestos and asbestos products have largely disappeared from the market, but it has not disappeared from millions of American homes.  The EPA treats asbestos products as an ongoing problem because removing many of them can cause exposure to deadly asbestos fibers as older asbestos products break and crumble.

The agency notes that homes built up to 1977 may have asbestos products in them.  Their list of potential sites:

• Some roofing and siding shingles are made of asbestos cement.
• Houses built between 1930 and 1950 may have asbestos as insulation.
• Asbestos may be present in textured paint and in patching compounds used on wall and ceiling joints. Their use was banned in 1977.
• Artificial ashes and embers sold for use in gas-fired fireplaces may contain asbestos.
• Older products such as stove-top pads may have some asbestos compounds.
• Walls and floors around wood burning stoves may be protected with asbestos paper, millboard, or cement sheets.
• Asbestos is found in some vinyl floor tiles and the backing on vinyl sheet flooring and adhesives.
• Hot water and steam pipes in older houses may be coated with an asbestos material or covered with an asbestos blanket or tape.
• Oil and coal furnaces and door gaskets may have asbestos insulation.

Ironically, the EPA feels that asbestos removal from the home may be the most dangerous option, simply because disturbing it may cause dust carrying asbestos fibers.  To see the full list of their recommendations on checking and treating your home for asbestos, visit;

http://www.epa.gov/

The Face Of The Asbestos Epidemic

This short film was produced to raise awareness of the issues surrounding mesothelioma. It includes interviews with people who have the disease. Although the participants of this film live in the U.K. the stories are no different than those of victims and families suffering here in the United States. The disease mesothelioma knows no borders.

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