(C) Iowa Capital Dispatch
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DNR issues fines for asbestos violations at mobile home park and former school [1]
['Jared Strong', 'More From Author', '- September']
Date: 2023-09-25
An eastern Iowa mobile home park demolished some of its homes without testing them for asbestos and did not dispose of them in a way to prevent asbestos exposure of its residents, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
The demolitions at Fawn Creek Court in Anamosa last year spawned two of four fines totaling more than $30,000 that the DNR recently levied for asbestos violations. The other two fines stemmed from demolition of a former school building in Lost Nation.
Generally, buildings that are set for demolition or significant renovation are required by federal and state law to be tested for asbestos. It is a fibrous material that can become airborne and inhaled by people, who might develop lung cancer or other ailments as a result.
It’s unclear whether the Fawn Creek mobile homes contained the substance, said Levi Fisher, who specializes in asbestos compliance for the DNR and investigated the demolitions. No tests of the materials happened before demolition, and the leftover debris was unsuitable for testing, he said.
Pro Platinum Construction and Remodeling, which was hired to demolish the homes, claimed they did not contain asbestos, “but they did not have inspection reports,” according to a recent DNR administrative order.
Without the tests, the debris is assumed to contain asbestos.
The most common sources of asbestos in the homes are window caulking, window glaze and roof paint, Fisher said.
The DNR learned of the demolitions in June 2022 because of a complaint. At the time, Fisher told Kodiak Property Management, which manages the mobile home court, to cease the demolitions. But three months later, Fisher returned to the site and noted eight more mobile homes had been demolished and that debris from the previous demolitions had been removed without taking asbestos precautions.
Those precautions commonly include wetting the materials to prevent asbestos from becoming airborne and wrapping them in plastic, Fisher said.
“Kodiak Property Management disregarded the regulations and DNR’s instructions and continued with the removal project without notifications and inspections,” the DNR order said.
Kodiak Property Management recently agreed to pay an $8,400 fine to settle the issue. Pro Platinum will pay $4,000. The DNR is further requiring the companies to send an employee to an asbestos inspector course and comply with regulations in the future.
School renovation also cited
In October 2022, DNR received a report that potential asbestos-containing material was being removed from a former school in Lost Nation and buried on site.
Two people, James Ziebell and Chanchai Sooksawan, own the eastern Iowa property, which has a three-story building, a gymnasium and other buildings. As part of their renovation of the property, unspecified building materials were removed and buried in a trench, according to a DNR order.
DNR tests of the materials showed they contained asbestos. Sooksawan and Ziebell each indicated that the other person was doing the renovation work. Tires were also buried along with the debris.
“While it is unclear as to which owner conducted the renovation and disposal, it appears that it was done by or with the knowledge of one or both of the owners,” the DNR order said.
Sooksawan and Ziebell were each fined $10,000 and ordered to hire an asbestos abatement company to properly dispose of the debris. They must also have the site inspected for asbestos before continuing the renovation work.
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