Explosion Causes Asbestos Concerns

January 12, 2007 - Asbestos has been found in the rubble of three homes that were destroyed by a December 9th gas explosion in Allentown, Pennsylvania.  According to a report in the Allentown Morning Call, the blast that leveled the homes and seriously damaged a fourth has spread asbestos-laden debris throughout the Mohawk Street neighborhood of this working-class town.

The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has ordered all demolition contractors to treat any rubble as if it were contaminated with asbestos.  Most of the hazardous material is believed to have come from floor or ceiling tiles, shingles, and siding.

Mark Carmon, regional spokesperson for the DEP, said that while the risk to the public is “probably very low,” there was no way to know if emergency responders or neighbors were at risk at the time of the explosion. “Since the best way to contain asbestos is to wet it down, firefighters' efforts to extinguish the blaze probably helped prevent the asbestos from becoming airborne,” he said.

“Normally, the problems with friable asbestos would be in areas that were enclosed and not out in the ambient atmosphere,'' Carmon added. ''As far as the emergency responders, without any samples taken by anybody on the scene it would really be impossible at the time of the incident'' to tell if exposure was a risk.