Asbestos News

A demolition firm is assuring residents that every precaution is being taken to ensure that asbestos is handled properly at an Ohio building.

Shrock Premier Custom Construction and Rainbow International Restoration & Cleaning is razing the former Kresge building in Mount Vernon, Ohio, according to the Mount Vernon News.

Joseph Shrock, a spokesmen for the firm performing the demolition work, said that the company didn't initially know asbestos was present in the structure.

"At the time we started demolition, we had no way of knowing there was going to be asbestos in the building," he told the news source. "There was no way of safely getting in there to test. But once we started demolition, we used precautions as if there was asbestos and kept everything watered down."

The asbestos was reportedly found around pipes after walls were torn down.

After the asbestos find, the Environmental Protection Agency was brought back to the site to determine a plan for the removal of the deadly mineral, exposure to which can cause malignant mesothelioma and asbestosis.

However, Shrock said he was confident that no one should be worried.

"There should not be any reason for people to be concerned about their health," he told the news provider. "We've done everything by the EPA asbestos removal guidelines during the cleanup."