Rochester’s Renaissance Square Needs Asbestos Removal

A crumbling area of downtown Rochester, New York will soon be getting a major facelift. That is, as soon as the toxic asbestos is removed from the site. Plans for the new Renaissance Square are still getting some tweaks, but the demolition being done in preparation for the new site is well underway.

Air quality testing is currently underway, and has been completed on three of the twenty properties at the corner near Main and Clinton. All properties facing demolition will need to undergo asbestos abatement if the toxic substance is present in the building. Asbestos abatement is costly, but necessary, as airborne asbestos can lead to lung cancer or pleural mesothelioma.

Therefore, workers will be carefully examining each building prior to demolition. “They’ll be looking at ceilings, caulk, pipe, stone, and seeing what they find. There are numerous federal safety and health regulations that have to be complied with to protect the health and safety of the workers and public and those will certainly be rigorously adhered to,” said Mike Power, the Renaissance Square project spokesman.

Asbestos has a natural resistance to fire and chemical damage, which is why it was once a common component of building materials such as tiles, insulation, fireproofing, and caulking. Now, asbestos is known to be carcinogenic, and is linked to various cancers, as well as asbestosis, a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the lungs.

Source: http://www.rnews.com/content/top_stories/473732/asbestos-must-be-cleared-for-ren–square-to-progress/