EPA Orders Halt to Asbestos Removal at Tennessee Rayon Plant

On March 12, EPA officials rescinded and terminated an August 2008 consent agreement with A & E Salvage and issued the Immediate Compliance Order. The Order requires Liberty Fibers and the salvagers to cease any further activity at the facility that results in the handling of asbestos which may disturb, dislodge, break up, crush, or otherwise cause potential release and emissions of asbestos fibers.

When inhaled, airborne asbestos fibers can increase the risk of asbestosis, a debilitating lung disease, and may also increase risks for various types of cancers. EPA recognizes no safe level of exposure to airborne asbestos.

The Order alleges that A & E Salvage violated the National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants, NESHAP, for Asbestos under the Clean Air Act, and also violated the terms of the August 8, 2008 consent agreement.

Under the agreement, A & E Salvage agreed to thoroughly inspect the property, and develop and carry out plans for removal and proper disposal of asbestos waste materials that had been improperly disposed around the facility.

In September 2006, A & E Salvage began conducting extensive salvage and demolition activities at the bankrupt Liberty Fibers plant in Morristown, the county seat of Hamblen County in east Tennessee's Holston Valley.

Asbestos hanging from ductwork in an abandoned building (Photo credit unknown)

Most of the buildings, structures, associated piping and some of the salvaged and demolished equipment contained friable asbestos and non-friable asbestos that can be made friable during such operations.

Friability is the ability to easily reduce a solid chunk of asbestos into small fibers, enabling them to enter the lungs.

During salvaging and demolition activities, A & E improperly handled, stored, and disposed on-site building waste materials containing asbestos in violation of the Asbestos NESHAP. Most of this waste material has been improperly stored in a building and disposed around the property in waste piles.

A & E Salvage violated the Asbestos NESHAP regulations by failing to conduct a thorough inspection of the facility and failing to properly notify state officials of the work prior to beginning salvage and demolition operations.

In addition, the salvager failed to keep all asbestos waste materials adequately wet at all times to prevent the release of asbestos fibers. The company also failed to remove all asbestos-containing waste materials before conducting salvage and demolition work, making it impossible to retrieve the hazardous asbestos for proper disposal.

The salvager failed to properly dispose of asbestos-containing waste materials as soon as practical, instead leaving them in piles around the property.

A & E hired workers who were not properly trained in asbestos abatement work, and allowed the workers to handle asbestos materials without proper protection against exposure to asbestos, the EPA inspectors found.

"A & E Salvage’s violations of the Asbestos NESHAP have placed, and continue to place workers who handle asbestos materials at risk because they are working without proper safety equipment, proper training and supervision," the EPA said today, adding that others who are present at the facility during asbestos removal operations are also at a potentially serious risk of harm due to exposure to asbestos fibers.

The Immediate Compliance Order requires A & E to secure the facility against unauthorized access by anyone who could come into contact with the asbestos that is scattered around the property.

The salvager must submit a revised Bagged Asbestos Waste Disposal Plan and a report on exact locations of the asbestos waste on the former Liberty Fibers site.

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