On March 10, demolition company Melching Inc. informed Muskegon city commissioners that there is 3% asbestos content in the outer-layer of paint on two smokestacks set to be demolished on April 27. The smokestacks, located at the former Sappi paper mill, are each more than 200’ in height. Melching has already removed the paint from the bottom 12’ of the smokestacks, which is where the explosives will eventually bring them down.
Muskegon commissioners, concerned for their constituents’ safety, asked Melching whether or not the company could guarantee that the demolition would not harm the environment or its inhabitants. “Most of the dust off the demolition will be concrete, but no engineer can say they will stop 100% of the dust,” replied Tyson Lahmeyer, Melching’s environmental manager. Because the asbestos is not friable, Lahmeyer was optimistic about the company’s ability to prevent any exposure from occurring. “It is not likely any asbestos will become airborne with the demolition.”
To prevent asbestos fibers from becoming airborne, Melching plans to wet the smokestacks and the landing area prior to the demolition. Once the smokestacks have fallen, the company will then wet the debris. Over the following month, certified asbestos removal technicians will use covered trucks to remove the contaminated material.
Despite Melching’s proactive approach to the problem and the expectation that the air quality will not be jeopardized as a result of the demolition, Commissioner Willie German Jr. was still concerned. “But what if there is a release?” he asked. “What are our contingency plans?”
To protect the public, Muskegon authorities will establish a 500’ exclusionary zone, where no one will be allowed, as well as an evacuation zone for residents within 1,000’ of the site. All residents in that area will be encouraged to leave their homes on the day of the demolition, and the public is prohibited from visiting the site. This method is similar to one used in October, when Melching successfully demolished a ten-story Sappi power plant.
Eventually, the property will become a mixed-use development. “The reality is that the smokestacks must come down,” said City Manager Frank Peterson. “The time to do it is when the site is cleaned and not having other debris that could be contaminated with this material.”
Asbestos, once commonly used in manufacturing and construction, has been banned since the 1970s. Still, the harmful material is routinely discovered in buildings erected prior to the ban. Exposure to asbestos is responsible for a variety of respiratory illnesses, including mesothelioma.