Asbestos removal slows demolition of Memorial Auditorium and Donovan Building
Nearly $12 million will be spent on clean-up
Asbestos was lauded for centuries as a nearly indestructible, flame-resistant building material and insulator.
Now it’s the bane of homeowners and developers who are spending a small fortune to remove the deadly substance before they remodel and raze.
Case in point: Memorial Auditorium and the Donovan State Office Building in downtown Buffalo, where nearly $12 million is currently being spent on asbestos abatement prior to demolition.
“It’s an unavoidable, necessary part of getting those buildings gone so we can redevelop the Buffalo waterfront,” said Jordan A. Levy, chairman of the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. “We’re doing everything we can to get it out the fastest, safest way possible, but you can’t be cheap when it comes to asbestos removal.”
A naturally occurring substance, asbestos has been used since the Roman Empire, when it was woven into oil lamp wicks. While its links to breathing ailments date back centuries, asbestos was widely used in the U. S. construction and auto industries into the early 1980s, when evidence mounted that exposure to the fibers causes fatal respiratory diseases.
So as the waterfront structures are prepared for demolition to make way for the $400 million Canal Side redevelopment project in the city’s historic Erie Canal Harbor neighborhood, the asbestos used in its construction needs to come out.
Since the costly and complex removal efforts got under way in April and June, some 1,250 tons of asbestos- tainted materials have been pulled from the Aud and Donovan Building. The hazardous debris includes asbestos used for everything from pipe insulation to fire-retardant wall coatings to backing for floor and ceiling tiles.
More than 70 tractor-trailer loads of contaminated materials have been hauled to a federally licensed landfill in Waynesburg, Ohio.
About 60 percent of the job has been completed, according to Flagship PDG, the Pittsburgh- based environmental services contractor in charge of Aud remediation. LVI Environmental Services of Rochester has completed around 30 percent of the cleanup work.
It’s not an easy task in the sprawling, 68-year-old Aud, which is a quirky building to work on, PDG project manager Lou Marinacci said.
Opened in 1940, the Aud has undergone three major renovations, resulting in layers of construction and sealed-off spaces where asbestos is hidden.
One of most unusual and time-consuming problems was found under the 10-inch concrete floor — an asbestos-laden membrane, approximately 1/16th of an inch thick, formerly serving as insulation for the ice surface.
“So we can’t just bust up the floor as part of the demolition. We have to get that barrier out of there,” said Mark E. Smith, the harbor development agency’s director of construction.
Across Main Street at the eight-story former state office building, asbestos locations are more predictable. But there’s a lot of it, with the bulk sprayed on the infrastructure as a fire retardant. Donovan crews also face physically tighter working conditions.
“There’s a lot of coordination needed because we’re working on multiple levels. It’s very labor- intensive work,” said Sean Miller, an LVI vice president.
Between the Aud and the Donovan building there are more than 100 certified asbestos- remediation workers and supervisors on the job every day, with PDG running two daily shifts at the Aud
At both sites, crews work behind multiple layers of airtight barriers, wearing safety suits and respirators. Exiting the job site at the end of the day, workers are required to shower before putting on their street clothes.
Inside the structures, air-lock and filtration systems keep fibers from escaping.
“We do constant self-monitoring, and both sites are subject to frequent visits by state inspectors,” said Robert Kreuzer of Buffalo-based Liro Engineers, a project consultant.
Asbestos remediation at the Aud will wrap up by Oct. 3, while remediation at the Donovan site is slated for completion by Dec. 9. Both structures will be razed in time for the spring 2009 construction season., when work will start on the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor Worldstore, scheduled to open in 2010 where the Aud now stands.
