More Asbestos Plagues Kansas City Site

October 9, 2006 - Kansas City’s Citadel Plaza retail development, which in recent months has been the site of much controversy over asbestos-laden dirt and its removal, is facing yet another challenge. 

Employees at the site have been working for months to clear the contaminated dirt where homes once sat but were demolished to make way for the shopping area, resulting in asbestos debris. After much progress, the company clearing the debris brought in loads of new dirt, according to a report in the Kansas City Star. Unfortunately, the fill dirt, which was acquired at no cost from a nearby Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall building site, was also contaminated with trace amounts of asbestos.

After hauling 20-30 truckloads of dirt onto the Citadel Plaza site, one of the employees noticed small debris in the dirt.  Inspections by Kansas City Health Department and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources determined that asbestos was present.

Bill Worley, co-owner of Kingston Environmental, who’s doing the removal work, said the contamination was small. “We got some dirt, and we noticed it had little-bitty chips in it,” Worley said. “This is cute given everything we have been dealing with.”

Frank Rose, a spokesman for the Jehovah’s Witnesses, told the Kansas City Star that the congregation didn’t know the dirt contained asbestos.

The newspaper article also noted that the city’s park department also took some of the free dirt for a dog park they’re building at the nearby Raytown Road Sports Complex. A spokesperson for the city said that tests would be performed this week on the dirt at the sports complex.