COMMENT OF THE DAY: SETTING THE STANDARDS TOO HIGH “Have people gone from midgets to monsters in the few years that this place went from being fully occupied to empty? Before it closed were people banging their heads on the roof? did any of the previous tenants died of melanoma due to asbestos? Should we blow up any building that has asbestos in it? Do you realize that would be just about every building in the city? I realize the ceilings are lower than what is considered to be in style today, but that doesn’t mean the place needs to be torn down. The price of the building, plus the cost of demo, is much higher than the land alone was worth. There is no way that the value of the structure doesn’t warrant it being saved. If you clean the place up and turned it into offices, it would be full in about 15 seconds. Low ceilings and all. It’s not the asbestos or low ceilings keeping it from being taken care of and fixed up. It’s unrealistic expectations of what the building needs to be in order to be considered satisfactory to the city.” [Codys bar, commenting on Will 3400 Montrose Rise from the Dead?]
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Mesothelioma, not melanoma. For occupants, the risk of getting mesothelioma from working in a building with asbestos is an issue that is been the subject of some debate. But, studies are showing that the exposure in a building with asbestos is not enough to cause mesothelioma (but you would not want to roll those dice with your kids). The problem is that during rennovations, workers will be exosed to asbestos if they disturb the existing asbestos on insulation or in joints on drywall. That kind of exposure can lead to mesothelioma and a very terrible demise. So, unless the asbestos won’t be disturbed or can be encapsuled during renovations, it will generally be abated. Of course all the asbestos must be removed if there is a demolition.