Asbestos a Concern During Coffeyville Demolitions

The houses were damaged during a devastating flood and spill of about 90,000 gallons of crude oil from Coffeyville Resources during the weekend of June 30-July1.

Coffeyville Resources will conduct perimeter asbestos air monitoring during the demolition project and will remove asbestos as required by the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants regulations.

EPA personnel will collect independent samples at approximately 10 percent of Coffeyville Resources' sampling locations to confirm the company's air monitoring data.

The excavators moved in Monday to begin demolishing 313 damaged homes in Coffeyville, Kansas. (Photo courtesy City of Coffeyville)

Asbestos can be found in older homes where it was used as insulation and in floor and ceiling tiles. In most of the current applications, asbestos fibers are contained within a matrix, typically cement or organic resins.

Exposure to airborne asbestos may pose a public health risk because persons breathing the air may breathe in asbestos fibers. Embedded in lung tissue, asbestos fibers may, over time, cause serious lung diseases including lung cancer and noncancerous scarring of the lungs that makes breathing difficult.

Coffeyville Resources purchased the damaged houses under a buyout program it implemented in response to the oil spill and flood. The company began demolition work Monday.

"This program, undertaken in cooperation with the city of Coffeyville, is helping the community recover from the devastation caused by the flood," said Stan Riemann, Coffeyville Resources chief operating officer. "We are doing all that we can to help our community heal and help residents reestablish their lives."

The voluntary residential purchase program, which was initiated shortly after the flood, offered to purchase eligible homes at 110 percent of pre-flood fair market appraised value.

Heavy rains in June caused localized flooding and a rise in elevation of the Verdigris River, which overflowed the levee around Coffeyville.

River levels rose rapidly and exceeded the height of the levee by 3.9 feet. The company’s nitrogen fertilizer plant and refinery both were damaged during the record flood and flood waters entering the refinery caused the oil spill.

The refinery and fertilizer plant are both back in operation, the company said.

Other than remediation, the company said it has no plans for the purchased land, although after remediation it could be made available for public use if requested.

Founded in 1869 by Colonel James Coffey, Coffeyville is currently home to John Deere Coffeyville Works, Acme Foundry, and Amazon.com's largest distribution center, which is the city's largest employer.

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