EPA Reaches Agreement with Two Companies Requiring the Cleanup of Asbestos at a School and Head Start Facility in Penuelas, Puerto Rico

Today's post was shared by US EPA News and comes from yosemite.epa.gov

Release Date: 04/08/2014 (New York, N.Y.) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached an agreement with the Homeca Recycling Center Co, Inc. and Tallaboa Industrial Park, LLC to clean up asbestos that spread from a building in the Tallaboa Industrial Park during demolition to the nearby Jorge Lucas Perez Valdevieso School and a children’s Head Start facility. The building was being demolished as part of the redevelopment of the former Puerto Rico Olefins facility in Penuelas, Puerto Rico. Under the agreement, the companies will remove asbestos fibers and materials from the Jorge Lucas Pérez Valdivieso School and the Tallaboa Encarnacion Head Start facility with EPA oversight of the work. Asbestos was once used in insulation and other building materials. The inhalation of asbestos fibers can lead to cancer and asbestosis, a serious respiratory disease. The removal of asbestos-containing materials during demolition requires strict adherence to procedures outlined in the Clean Air Act to protect public health. “Asbestos can cause serious health problems and must be handled properly to protect people’s health,” said Judith A. Enck, EPA Regional Administrator. “The cleanup of asbestos at the school and Head Start will protect the health of children in this community and allow these educational facilities to reopen.” In November 2013, EPA discovered that an ongoing demolition conducted at the facility was disturbing...

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