Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for March 1, 2006 EPA VISITS ABANDONED CAIRO HOSPITAL

From the Southern Illinoisan...

EPA visits abandoned Cairo hospital for asbestos testing

by andrea hahn
the southern

CAIRO - Step one in resolving the problem of the abandoned hospital in Cairo, formerly known as St. Mary's Hospital, begins today.

Assessment teams from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, stationed in Marion, have been called in to examine the hospital and determine the risk level posed by asbestos.

Kevin Turner, heading up the site assessment teams, said the EPA will examine all three buildings. Besides the asbestos, the teams will look for the presence of lead-based paint. There is also an underground storage tank they will examine as a potential environmental hazard.

"Once we collect the data and the samples, we'll determine if the site could warrant an asbestos abatement," Turner said.

Turner said the fact that there are no windows left in the hospital raises the possibility of risk to the residential neighborhood surrounding the hospital.

"Wind blowing through the building can spread the asbestos in the neighborhood," he said. "And even from the outside of the building, you can see there is peeling paint. That will migrate through the community by wind as easily as the asbestos."

Wind isn't the only way asbestos dust can enter the community from the hospital, he said.

"Large buildings are incredibly attractive to kids," he said. "They could easily run through the building, then bring home asbestos on their shoes. Suddenly, the asbestos that was in the hospital is in someone's home, in the carpeting. Their level of exposure could be as great as if they were sitting in the building."

Turner said the underground storage facility isn't much of a concern at this point.

"We're just going to evaluate where it is, and how big and whether anything is in it," he said.

Turner said having a large, abandoned building like the hospital is somewhat unusual in Southern Illinois.

Turner said the EPA has invited Cairo Mayor Paul Farris and City Councilman Bobby Whitaker to the building examination. Whitaker is the councilman whose district includes the hospital.

"A lot of people are a little bit ignorant (about the dangers posed by asbestos) but they know enough to be concerned," Whitaker said on Tuesday. "The hospital is an eyesore, and we're concerned about that, too."

Whitaker said he is pleased that the EPA will be making its assessment. He said it is a first step toward resolving the problem of the abandoned building.

Turner said U.S. Sen. Barack Obama has been a leader in tackling the problem of the old hospital. Last autumn, the Democratic senator convened a meeting to pull state and federal agencies together to resolve the issue of the hospital, which has been abandoned since 1986. It cannot be demolished without first remedying the presence of asbestos and any other medical or environmental waste hazards.

The estimated cost of demolishing the buildings is $750,000 - a number some Cairo officials think may be too low. In an earlier interview with The Southern Illinoisan, City Clerk DeBran Sudduth said the amount seemed too low for everything that would be involved with tearing down the trio of buildings making up the hospital.

Whitaker said he hopes federal and state agencies will work together to fund the hoped-for demolition of the hospital. He said he "hated to speculate" about what might happen after the EPA assessment, but is hopeful that the assessment is a sign that the problem of the hospital will be addressed.

The hospital was first scheduled to close in the summer of 1973. The Sisters of the Holy Cross, who ran it as St. Mary's, said the facility was losing too much money to remain operating. But after an emergency intervention by state health agencies and the Southern Illinois University Carbondale School of Medicine to keep the building open, the Pulaski-Alexander Development Corp. bought the hospital. In March 1974, then-Gov. Daniel Walker rededicated the site as the PADCO Community Hospital.

Turner said about a dozen people will be on site, working in about four teams to inspect the hospital. He expects the inspection and assessment to take at least one full day.

According to information posted by OSHA, asbestos exposure can increase the chances of getting two types of cancer. Asbestos exposure can lead to lung cancer or mesothelioma, a cancer of the thin membrane surrounding the lung and other internal organs. The diseases do not typically manifest themselves right away, but appear after a number of years.

Lead exposure is especially harmful to children. According to the EPA, it can damage the brain and nervous system, slow growth, and cause hearing problems or learning problems. In adults it can lead to reproductive problems, digestive problems, nerve disorders, muscle and joint pain and memory and concentration problems.