SHAMOKIN - Work to remove demolition debris that could possibly include asbestos-containing materials from the site of a building collapse on North Shamokin Street began and soon after stopped Thursday.
Employees of Madonna Enterprises, Port Carbon, were "scratching around" with a front-end loader but weren't able to make much progress after it was learned a new part was needed for the heavy equipment, said City Clerk Steve Bartos.
Bartos said he expects work at the former Shamokin Health Spa in the 700 block of North Shamokin Street to resume today.
While there is no time line for the project to be completed, he says it should be finished by Nov. 1.
"It's not a big job what's left to do there," Bartos said.
"The big issue would be if (Madonna Enterprises) came across residual waste," he added, such as old oil tanks.
Of course, there is the issue of possible asbestos at the site.
A pair of federal environmental officers were at the site Wednesday collecting samples to be tested for asbestos-containing materials.
The samples were shared with the city to have its own laboratory testing performed.
It's unclear when the results will become available from either party.
Positive for abestos
A sample tested by a federally accredited testing laboratory in August returned positive for asbestos. The sample was collected by city resident Matt Stevens, who also commissioned the testing. It was discredited by the city clerk over "chain of custody" concerns. Stevens maintains the sample is authentic.
If asbestos does exist at the site, a federal spokeswoman said there is no immediate health risk to nearby residents or passers-by, saying asbestos is harmful from "long-term exposure" over the course of years.
A state waste inspector reported that asbestos-containing material was found at the site during a late summer visit, a Department of Environmental Protection official said earlier this week. That came from observation of the debris and not laboratory analysis.
The inspector's visit, made sometime between late August and early September, was made after complaints were filed by city residents.
After the visit, DEP instructed the city to rid the site of the debris that has laid exposed since a partial collapse of two adjoining vacant commercial properties in mid-June.
The department returned to the site Tuesday and provided the city written instructions for the proper removal of asbestos-containing material: restrict access to the site, have an asbestos building inspector on site, wet down the debris, have it transported in a sealed container for disposal at a permitted landfill, submit disposal receipts to the department.
Lien on property
The property was once owned by Shamokin Health Spa Inc. and the late William G. Porto, according to court records.
It had been up for upset sale and judicial sale, and was also listed on the repository list.
A lien totaling $125,000 was placed on the property Sept. 5 by the city to prevent it from being sold on the cheap while the city is left responsible for demolition costs.
City council moved in October to begin the process of purchasing the property, and that sale is in motion, Solicitor H. Robert Mattis said Thursday.
If the sale is approved the lien would be lifted, he said.
The price of the lien was made to include the $8,900 estimate by Madonna Enterprises to finish debris removal, a $98,500 estimate sought by Robert Gusick Demolition, Shamokin, and contingency money, Bartos said.
The Shamokin demolition firm was the original contractor at the site and, according to a bill given to the city July 17, is seeking approximately 85 percent of the estimate for work already completed along with 1.5 percent interest.
The city and Gusick demolition are entangled in a dispute over the estimate amount and the city's request for a cost breakdown, and the contractor was ordered to stop work at a July 3 meeting. However, the bill says work was ordered stopped prior to that on June 26.