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HOLLIDAYSBURG – As Blair County continues efforts aimed at keeping water out of the courthouse, it will need to remove some asbestos-laden material.
The one-time popular flame-retardant material was used to encapsulate a stormwater drainage pipe system within a little-used crawl space on the Allegheny Street side of the courthouse. Asbestos was also identified within some roof shingles and flashing.
An estimated cost of removal was not available Tuesday.
It’s not unusual for older shingles to contain asbestos, Commissioner Terry Tomassetti said Tuesday upon hearing of the asbestos test results presented during the weekly commissioners’ meeting. While county personnel have been unable to find records pinpointing when those shingles were put on the courthouse, building materials with asbestos were manufactured until 1978 in the United States.
Altoona architect David Albright, who is directing the county’s efforts to keep water out of the courthouse, told commissioners that the asbestos around the stormwater drainage pipe is in a critical path of work planned for the spring. Plans call for installation of a leak-proof lining to be inserted through the drainage pipe identified as one of the sources allowing water to seep into the structure.
The installation of that lining, Tomassetti said, will interfere with the asbestos and cause it to disburse. While intact asbestos products pose no danger, any action permitting asbestos fibers to be released and inhaled are considered health hazards.
Mountain Research LLC has presented the county with an offer to develop rules for asbestos removal and disposal, applicable to the drainage pipe and roof. The cost of that work is up to $2,400 for specifications contractors must follow, up to $600 for attendance at a pre-bid meeting and an additional charge of up to $600 per day, per person, for oversight during the removal period.
Jessica Sheets, representing Mountain Research, advised commissioners that the oversight offers assurance that the correct removal procedures were used, that the material was disposed of properly and that reports are subsequently filed.
Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 946-7456.