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April 05, 2013
Raton, New Mexico - The remains of the former El Portal Hotel in Raton, New Mexico, left behind after a November 2012 fire, contain a lot more asbestos than city officials originally surmised, resulting in the shutdown of clean-up operations and necessitating new plans for removal of the material.
The Raton Range reports that some of the debris from the mid-century-built hotel contained higher levels of asbestos than first anticipated, prompting the need for special handling and disposal. Raton’s code enforcement officer, David McCarty, notified Waste Bureau Chief Analie Ashley-Marx late last week that recent tests from the charred site show that some materials left behind do indeed contain more than 1 percent asbestos. Furthermore, the material is in unstable condition, which means it’s “friable” and can release hazardous particles into the air.
El Portal owner Andy Holman claims he was unaware of the situation. He notes that when the private inspection firm he hired presented him with results, they didn’t tell him that they detected any levels of asbestos that required special attention. Hence, he moved on with the clean-up, unaware of any concerns until officials halted the process late last week. Unfortunately, some of the toxic waste had already been dumped in the city of Raton’s municipal landfill, which is not licensed to accept asbestos waste.
As a result, Holman will probably receive some sort of “notice of violation” and may even be fined for the error. Chuck Akeley, the Solid Waste Bureau’s enforcement manager, said they’ll make a determination when “all the facts are in.” The media was not informed as to how the city gained the information about the improprieties.
“We’ve been working very closely with Raton,” Akeley said of discussions between the Solid Waste Bureau and the city. “We want to see this debris disposed of properly… and that’s the goal. He does not believe the debris currently left behind poses a health hazard to those who live or work in the area but encourages residents to abide by the warning signs posted at the site so as to avoid asbestos exposure, which can cause cancer.
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