Local News
Asbestos smelter cleanup starts in Ripley
By KURT HAUGLIE, DMG Writer
POSTED: June 12, 2008
Article Photos
Brian Kelly, EPA on-scene coordinator for the agency’s removal program based in Gross Ile, Mich., said asbestos will be or already has been removed from 12 of the 18 structures at the site.
However, Kelly said before the asbestos removal could begin many of the structures, including a brick smokestack, had to be stabilized. The stabilization work began Monday, and Tuesday. Workers from Julio Contracting Inc. of Ripley tore down 70 feet of the stack bringing it to 15 feet above the roof line of the building surrounding it.
The smokestack, which had a 200-foot diameter “kill zone,” was lowered after an inspection by U.P. Engineers & Architects determined it was unstable, Kelly said.
“They said under no circumstances can work be conducted with the stack in place,” he said.
Kelly said the smokestack had large cracks and there was no mortar between the bricks, which were held together with steel bands.
The process for lowering the smokestack involved placing wires at various locations around its diameter then pulling it down, Kelly said.
Because there was no mortar between the bricks and because there were so many cracks, it came down very quickly, and it did minimal damage to the surrounding structures.
“I’m really pleased with how it did come down,” he said.
A steel cap, which covered the opening of the smokestack, will be replaced, Kelly said.
Some of the buildings will have to be stabilized, also, Kelly said, before asbestos removal can begin in them.
“The primary activity is to remove the asbestos,” he said.
The general contractor for the project is Cincinnati, Ohio-based Environmental Quality Management, Kelly said. The subcontractors are Julio Contracting Inc., U.P. Engineers & Architects, Weston Solutions of Houghton which is providing technical consulting, and Qualified Abatement Services of Detroit, which is doing the asbestos removal.
Making sure the site was stable for the approximately 20 workers who will be involved with the process was important, Kelly said.
“Safety was the biggest concern,” he said.
Kelly said the project, which is expected to take about two weeks to complete, will cost $150,000.
Franklin Township acquired the smelter property in 1999 from the Quincy Development Corp. which was unable to fulfill a financial obligation at the time.
The plan was to lease it to the Keweenaw National Historical Park, which is interested in the property because it tells an important part of the copper mining history of the area.
However, in a March interview with the Gazette, Township Supervisor Glenn Ekdahl said in 2002, the EPA determined asbestos and heavy metals on the east side of the property were problems that had to be remediated before development could take place.
The beginning of the cleanup at the smelter site is very welcome by township residents, Ekdahl said in March.
“I’m really excited,” he said. “It looks like there’s movement again. It’s a big step for us.”
Kurt Hauglie can be reached at khauglie@mininggazette.com
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