Regulations Loosened for Asbestos Demolition

The Sun Herald, a publication in South Mississippi, annouced in an article entitled, Asbestos demolition rules loosened for Coast, that a federal extension granted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) late last week will allow twelve hundred more hurricane-destroyed houses in South Mississippi will be torn down under looser asbestos-handling requirements.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved No Action Assurance to run until September 30, 2007. The extension applies to hurricane-destroyed houses in Hancock, Harrison, Jackson and Pearl River counties of South Mississippi.

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), which sets regulations for air emissions of asbestos from building demolition and renovations for the state, estimated that at the end of the extension, 4,200 houses will have been torn down.

So what do these losser regulations mean? They mean county and city governments do not need to examine each structure (house) they allow to be demolished for asbestos if the structure appears to be unstable.

What can exposure to asbestos cause? In the United States, asbestos is the only confirmed cause of mesothelioma but not all asbestos exposures are the same. One breath of asbestos taken over a lifetime will not likely cause a disease. On the other hand, it is not necessary to be an “asbestos worker” in order to develop mesothelioma clinical symptoms. Read more on asbestos exposure.