BY LISA STAYTON
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — The Martin County Economic Development Authority’s response to an open records request raises new questions about whether adequate asbestos testing was performed before demolition of a structure in downtown Inez. The building at 21 East Main Street was built in 1947, an era when asbestos-containing materials were heavily used in commercial construction.
The Mountain Citizen requested the records after EDA officials did not respond to questions.
Records provided Monday in response to the newspaper’s request show that only five bulk samples were collected. Three of the samples were taken outside the structure before the EDA proceeded with demolition of the three-story brick building in early November. All five samples came back “none detected,” but the file contains no evidence of a full-structure asbestos survey and no chain of custody documentation for all samples.
Emails released in the response show that Steven Hall, Environmental Control Supervisor with the Kentucky Division for Air Quality, told the contractor and the state asbestos inspector, Morgan Rowe, that the building could qualify for emergency demolition.
“The building they are demolishing has a wall that could fall onto the sidewalk and street. I have informed them that an official will have to deem the building unsafe and produce an official document stating as such. I also informed him this would allow immediate demolition without a 10-day waiting period,” Hall wrote.
The records released by the EDA, however, do not include any official document declaring the building structurally unsafe, a requirement Hall described for bypassing the 10-day rule.
Laboratory records show the five samples for asbestos testing included stucco and carpet collected inside, and mortar, wall tar and brick collected outside. While the samples tested negative, the file contains no report identifying suspect materials inside the building. It also contains no photographs, diagrams showing where the samples were taken, or explanation for the limited number of samples taken from a 78-year-old commercial structure.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes that asbestos was commonly present in plaster and joint compound, ceiling tiles, flooring mastic, pipe and boiler insulation, window glazing and roofing felts and flashing in mid-20th century structures. None of these materials appear in the testing log provided by the EDA.
The EDA’s attorney, Brian Cumbo, states in the open records response that the agency has no abatement or remediation plans, air monitoring or clearance reports, correspondence with asbestos consultants, asbestos management plans, 811 utility locate tickets, or chain of custody forms. For each of these categories in the response, Cumbo answered, “There are no documents responsive to this request.”
An internal email released among the documents shows EDA Director and Martin County Deputy Judge-Executive Carolea Mills also questioned whether the asbestos testing was adequate.
“So we still need someone saying that the asbestos testing is sufficient? Can Morgan [Rowe] confirm that?” Mills wrote in an Oct. 29 email to county staff.
During the demolition the contractor hit a water line the evening of Nov. 9. However, the EDA said it has no record of the incident.
Howell’s Recycling and Sanitation began demolishing the building Saturday, Nov. 8, two days after the EDA signed the contract with the company. That contract stipulated that debris would go to Rumpke’s Boyd County Landfill. The EDA paid Howell $41,000 for the work.
The Mountain Citizen is continuing to investigate.