Please see the memo below from Superintendent John M. Searles regarding asbestos abatement at the Sugnet Site, which is scheduled to begin the week of January 27, 2025:
Memo from Superintendent John M. Searles
Date: January 22, 2025
Topic: Sugnet Site Asbestos Abatement
The following information has been provided by Three Rivers Corporation:
The process of asbestos abatement is highly regulated, controlled and monitored. Below are the key items for the isolation, control and monitoring of the abatement activates:
The entire area will be sealed off and put under negative pressure. Negative pressure is measured and monitored to ensure that there is constant negative pressure in the area. Negative pressure ensures that if there was even a small un-noticed crack in the encapsulation area the air would be moving from outside the containment area into the containment area so there would be no asbestos leaving the containment area from that breach.
All the work of removing the asbestos is done wet or with a HEPA vacuum so that there is virtually no dust containing asbestos floating in the air within the containment area.
HEPA filters run continuously within the containment area to constantly clean the area within the space as a backup to the protections of the work completed in #2.
The contractor will have air monitors set placed inside the abatement work area to monitor the air quality within the space. If the air quality is above the maximum threshold, the work will be halted and the space cleaned and remediation measures will be enacted.
There will be a 3rd party hygienist that works directly for the ESA that will also place monitoring equipment inside and outside the containment area continuously monitoring the air quality and will shut down the abatement if the air quality is above the maximum threshold.
Once all the abatement work is completed the space will be thoroughly cleaned and the 3rd party hygienist will clear the space to ensure it is free of asbestos particles prior to the containment area being taken down.
The air monitoring will remain in place while the containment area is removed to ensure the air quality remains below the threshold.
The hygienist will also monitor other areas within the building during the operation so that all employees can feel confident that the process is being handled as safely as possible.