Asbestos related diseases have been known of for nearly a century at this point, and yet developed nations still encounter problems with asbestos contamination not just in old buildings or homes and antiquated mining operations, but also in new construction projects.
In Fort Myers, Florida, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has put a sudden stop to the large scale, $25 million Summerlin flyover road construction project due to a suspicion of the illegal use of asbestos construction materials. After sectioning off the area with caution tape, a team proceeded to inspect portions of the new overpass in Lee County in search of further evidence. The FDEP crew was specifically searching the area for lengths of asbestos pipe reportedly being used as a filler material for the construction project.
In the United States, the Asbestos Ban and Phase Out Rule was issued in 1989, which called for the complete cessation of asbestos use throughout the country due to its potentially fatal hazards to human health, such as the cancer mesothelioma. The ban was overturned shortly after in 1991, arguably due to the importance of the asbestos industry to the economy and the potential economic shock that would result from a complete and immediate ban on the substance. The vast majority of other developed nations including much of the EU and Australia have held tight to their respective bans on the mineral, which allow for no asbestos to be used in new construction projects whatsoever. In the United States, while awareness of the risk associated with asbestos is fairly high and asbestos mining and fabricating are no longer legal, some amount of the dangerous substance is still permitted to be used in certain industrial materials and products.
The FDEP fears that Posen Construction, the contractor completing the Sumerlin flyover, is using more asbestos products in the project than is legally permissible. The contractors have been cited for illegal use of asbestos products before; they were forced to clean up a work-site and bring a road construction project within compliance of state standards just a few years ago.
“If you look in close, you can see the fibers up in here and that’s usually an indication of asbestos,” said the FDEP’s Sherrill Culliver, “I won’t be sure until I get my results back. But professionally, we’ve come across this a lot.”
The work on the overpass will remain on hold until lab results are available determining whether or not Posen Construction is in the wrong. If the results show that the asbestos levels in the construction materials exceed the legal limit, the firm will face fines and possibly further legal action.
