Background
EPA is conducting a time-critical
removal action to demolish and clean up the debris from the former Tribal
Office Building in Crow Agency. The building was damaged by fire, vandalism,
and weathering. Some of the building
materials contain asbestos, so all work will be conducted in a safe manner to
prevent the release of any asbestos fibers to the environment. The asbestos-containing waste will be transported
to a landfill permitted to accept friable asbestos.
The building is a single-level building of approximately 30,300 square feet with a 9,700 square foot finished basement and additional crawl space areas. The building is comprised of five sections of differing construction dates ranging from 1937 to 1974. The property historically operated as an Indian Health Service (IHS) Unit Hospital until being transferred to the Tribe for use as the Tribal Executive Office building. A fire occurred at the Site in May 2019 and consequently the building was vacated.
The EPA Region 8 Brownfields Program conducted a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) at the Site in 2020 and determined that friable asbestos-containing materials (ACM) were present in the building. The ESA found numerous building materials containing ACM including roofing felt, floor tiles and/or mastic, ceiling tile, pipe insulation and fittings, mudded fittings, fire doors, and light insulation. Samples of building materials showed concentrations of chrysotile and amosite asbestos ranging from 4 percent to 75 percent.
Planned Cleanup Actions:
The EPA Emergency Response
Program and its asbestos-certified cleanup contractors will begin cleanup the
week of May 23, 2022. Heavy equipment will
be delivered, such as an excavator, loader, and rolloff boxes for debris
disposal. A temporary fence and caution
tape will be set up around the building.
The cleanup may take up to eight weeks.
The cleanup contractors will wear special protective clothing and
respirators during the portions of the cleanup involving asbestos. The asbestos-contaminated debris will be
wetted down with water prior to and during the cleanup to ensure that no
asbestos fibers migrate from the debris piles. Air monitoring will be conducted
during the cleanup. The safety of the public is the highest
priority.
Some sections of the building
have no asbestos present or will have any asbestos materials removed prior to
demolition. The cleanup contractors will
not be wearing the asbestos-protective clothing and respirators when cleaning
up this debris because there is no risk of inhaling asbestos fibers. All debris will be transported for disposal to
an approved landfill whether it is asbestos-containing waste, or non-asbestos
construction and demolition debris.
Please try to avoid the area
during the cleanup as there will be a considerable amount of truck traffic and movement
of heavy equipment.
