Kansas City Project Halted Due to Asbestos

July 5, 2006 - Inspectors at a $103 million building site in downtown Kansas City promptly halted the project last week due to excessive asbestos contamination.  Officials say that they found evidence of asbestos in nearly every sample taken from the Citadel Plaza site, which will eventually contain both homes and retail stores.

According to an article published in the Kansas City Star, a 250-page report noted that asbestos was found in cleared lots, in demolished buildings, and in homes not yet demolished by the company in charge of the project.

“The Citadel Plaza redevelopment project contains the degree of contamination that will require extensive cleanup and remediation,” Kansas City Health Department Director Rex Archer wrote Saturday in a memo to city council members and city officials.  He did, however, add that air samples were clean and showed no evidence of airborne asbestos.

In the meantime, water trucks have kept busy wetting down the area so that it stays clean and asbestos fibers do not begin to circulate through the air.  Local residents have been warned of the dangers and warning tape has been placed throughout the area so as to discourage looters from digging through the rubble.

The asbestos found at the Citadel Plaza project is thought to be from floor and ceiling tiles, insulation, linoleum, and roofing.  Experts say it is interspersed with a variety of other materials, making clean-up particularly difficult and costly.

The developer has stated that the homes were not inspected for asbestos before demolition began because he didn’t realize it was required procedure. 

According to the article in the Kansas City Star, developers have been tearing down more than 100 homes over the past three years to make room for this complex, which includes 300 new housing units and 250,000 square feet of retail space, including clothing stores and a grocery store.