Davidson testing air in town park where lung-damaging asbestos was found in soil

Davidson plans to test the air Friday at a town park where asbestos, which has airborne fibers that can cause lung diseases, was found in soil last week.

The town announced last week that it would fence off parts of Roosevelt Wilson Park, as state health officials advised, to prevent disturbing the soil. Results of the air samples are expected three to five days after they’re taken, project manager Doug Wright said.

Town officials believe the contaminated soil is linked to a former asbestos factory, just east of the park, whose health and environmental legacy has plagued its neighborhood for years.

Carolina Asbestos Corp. made asbestos products in the former cotton mill on Depot Street from the 1930s to the 1960s, the state environment department says. Neighbors used asbestos-laden soil from the factory as fill dirt.

“They dumped it everywhere. And for that reason, I’ve got asbestos in my backyard. I’ve got asbestos in my front yard,” a homeowner told WSOC after a Jan. 13 public meeting about the problem.

Asbestos, a mineral that occurs naturally, was once widely used in building materials from insulation to siding and floor tiles. But researchers learned that, when inhaled, tiny asbestos fibers increase the risk of lung cancer and other lung diseases. The Environmental Protection Agency banned new asbestos products in 1989.

Concern over the Carolinas Asbestos site arose in 2015, when a developer proposed to redevelop it, according to documents on Davidson’s website. EPA, brought in to investigate, found that erosion from “varmint holes” in a slope behind the former factory uncovered material that was 70% asbestos.

In 2017 EPA sampled 77 properties around the factory and oversaw removal of asbestos-laden soil from 32 of them, replacing it with clean topsoil and grass. In all, more than 6,000 tons of contaminated material was dug up and hauled away.

Depending on test results, Wright expects more removal of contaminated soil and clean replacement at Roosevelt Wilson Park.

The tainted soil was discovered when Davidson wanted to install new play equipment at the park, which is along the main thoroughfare into town from Interstate 77. The federal grant that would pay for the equipment required that the town first do an environmental assessment.

Four contaminated areas are fenced off now as testing continues.

State environmental officials have recommended that the town create an “Asbestos Watch Area” around the former factory to see that future soil-disturbing work that could release asbestos, such as digging building foundations, is done safely.

“It’s a very difficult balance, and we’re trying to get to the right balance of protecting public health and protecting property values,” Wright said. “Residents have brought up both concerns.”

The state Department of Environmental Quality, meanwhile, is considering a proposal to redevelop the Depot Street site that could permanently encapsulate the asbestos under it.

The department is considering a brownfields application submitted in August by 301 Depot Holdings LLC, a Charlotte company that envisions redeveloping the site for offices, a restaurant and brewery and retail.

Brownfields are contaminated sites that the state deems safe for certain types of redevelopment, such as commercial but not residential uses. Reuse of the Depot Street site would include synthetic liners over the once-eroding slope, paved areas and new landscaping.

The state expects to take public comment on the brownfields proposal in March and to make a decision in July.

This story was originally published February 6, 2020 at 10:31 AM.