Issue date: 9/17/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Aren Dow The demolition crew removes the debris of Cougar Village Apartment 529 to clear the area for the future building.

Media Credit: Aren Dow The lining in the truck helps protect potential asbestos harm to nearby residents during the transportation process.

Cougar Village Apartment 529 is on its way to restoration.

First, the damaged building needs to be torn down, which will take place all week. The demolition of Apartment 529 will be finished by Friday, if it completes on schedule. The building was originally destroyed after a lightning strike ignited the roof on Aug 17, ultimately gutting the apartment complex.

An e-mail was sent out to students Friday informing residents when the demolition would take place and listed the precautions students should take. Bob McCutcheon, chief carpenter of University Housing, said asbestos was found in the flooring and drywall compounds.

"Asbestos was found in some of the drywall tape, and now that they've had a fire, some of that could become friable," McCutcheon said. "The whole building has to be (demolished) as an abatement process."

John Gilmore, part of an environmental group who oversees the demolition, said the safety measures taken during the demolition were nothing out of the ordinary.

"It's normal," Gilmore said. "It's the same way we would treat any other building built in the '70s."

The safety procedures followed by the demolition crew are standard as well. There are different levels of government standards which must be met if hazardous material is present in the area.

"There are strict state and federal guidelines when you have material that is hazardous to the public. Asbestos is one of the materials," McCutcheon said.

To protect students in the area, there are abatement air samplers on the fence that surrounds the demolition site. Gilmore said the samplers measure the amount of particles in the air to make sure the area outside the demolition zone is safe.

According to Gilmore, several trucks are being used to transport the materials to the landfill in Roxana. Once the truck's bed has been filled with debris, it is sealed off to prevent any problems occurring during the transportation process. When needed, drivers and workers wear clear suits and gas masks to avoid any potential problems. All of the debris has to be transported in this manner, not just the items that had asbestos.

"Everything in this building could possibly have asbestos residue," McCutcheon said. "It all has to be viewed as hazardous material. Ninety-nine percent of the materials in here are asbestos free, but it only takes 1 percent to be hazardous."

McCutcheon said the plan was to remove the building and debris, leaving only the foundation. Whether or not the foundation would be used for the new building will be determined at a later date.

"They'll strip it all the way down to the tile. That will have to be abated," McCutcheon said. "What we want to wind up with is a clear slab of concrete."

McCutcheon said having the crane knock the building down is the most time-consuming part of the project. The trick to have the demolition move efficiently was to have the trucks coordinate with the crane moving the debris.

"If it's sitting here, it is wasting money," Gilmore said.

For video footage of the 529 demolition,go to www.alestlelive.com.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools