Civic Center Asbestos Will Be Taken Out
POTSDAM - Approximately 16 feet of "asbestos piping insulation" will be removed from the basement of the Potsdam Civic Center early next month, according to Village Administrator Michael D. Weil.
Mr. Weil said Friday the abatement will be carried out by LVI Environmental Services. He said the removal is part of a Potsdam Public Library project to build a community resource center in the Civic Center basement.
"This work will be done by a certified asbestos removal contractor and will comply fully with all asbestos notification, work, and testing requirements," Mr. Weil said.
"It is likely the work will be done during the week of Aug. 9 and will be done after hours to further safeguard employees and the public."
In November of last year village officials spent $50,000 on a series of other asbestos abatement projects at different locations in the Civic Center .
During that round of asbestos cleanup, work took place in parts of the civic center basement, the upstairs village courtroom and a front administrative office, according to officials.
Given the age of the Potsdam Civic Center, and despite past removal efforts, Mr. Weil said Friday it is possible more asbestos remains in the building.
But he said the structure has been repeatedly tested and investigated by state and private officials in recent years and to date all air quality tests have come back negative.
In November, approximately 100 samples were taken, including background, environmental and transmission electron microscopy testing capable of specifically identifying asbestos fibers, according to officials.
"The building has been investigated by the Department of Labor and has been tested numerous times in the past couple of years with no asbestos exposure detected by village contracted sampling, construction sampling, or Department of Labor sampling," Mr. Weil said. "To the best of our knowledge, there is no asbestos exposure hazard in the building."
The latest asbestos wrapped pipes being removed in the Civic Center were uncovered as part of the library's expansion into a previously little-used portion of the building's basement. As part of the project, Mr. Weil said contractors need to install new heat and air handling systems and equipment.
"In determining the best routing for heat piping, the contractor has asked to have about 16 feet of asbestos piping insulation located above a suspended ceiling abated to eliminate the possibility of any type of inadvertent asbestos exposure during the new piping installation work," Mr. Weil said.
The village has undertaken asbestos remediation and abatement projects several times over the years going back to the early 1980s, according to records.
In May 2009, senior village clerk Sharon M. LaDuke died at the age of 57, three months after being diagnosed with mesothelioma, a rare cancer linked to asbestos.
Ms. LaDuke's husband, Timothy J. LaDuke, later retained the law firm of Belluck & Fox LLP and in September 2009 filed a notice of claim against the village indicating he may seek as much as $12 million in damages for his wife's alleged wrongful death.
The notice of claim alleges the village of Potsdam failed to provide a safe work environment for Mrs. LaDuke. At the time of her death on May 29, 2009, Mrs. LaDuke was a 34-year employee of the village.
