WORCESTER — Asbestos was being removed from the old Doherty Memorial High School building before work crews recently started tearing it down , according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The natural fiber used in many older buildings, including the former Doherty High building that dates to the 1960s, is linked to serious health risks including cancer.
Students move into the new $316 million Doherty High in the fall, located next to the old school that is being ripped down by backhoes and other heavy equipment.
A review of documents supplied by state environmental officials shows licensed inspectors found asbestos throughout the former school building. A work plan signed in May by the Worcester Public Schools said removal of the asbestos would be finished before demolition started.
A spokesman at the state DEP said Tuesday the agency understands the asbestos removal was recently finished. The state is waiting to receive paperwork from the parties that removed the asbestos to determine if the work was done according to the specifications spelled out when the state approved the job.
More: History lesson: Old Doherty High School in Worcester being torn down
An estimated 2,500 cubic yards of materials containing asbestos will be trucked away by a Connecticut hauler, It's About Time Logistics. The contaminated loads will go to Minerva Enterprises, a landfill located in Stark County, Ohio.
The City of Worcester declined a request to interview officials at Fontaine Brothers for this story. The Springfield developer is overseeing construction of the new Doherty High. Dave Fontaine Jr., the company's chief executive officer, said he needed city approval to participate in an interview.
A city statement said hazardous materials are being disposed of at properly regulated facilities and work is being conducted safely and in accordance with all local and state guidelines and procedures.
More hazards besides asbestos
Meanwhile, other environmental hazards appeared on the old Doherty site, according to the state DEP. Insulation containing vermiculite that can contain asbestos was found in concrete blocks in the auditorium and was safely removed.
In addition, more than 30 gallons of hydraulic oil, an environmental hazard, were released from a crane at the demolition site. The spill was reported to the state and the city removed the contaminated soil, according to state officials.
What is asbestos and why is it potentially dangerous?
Government regulations severely limit the use of asbestos, but it has been widely used in construction materials as insulation and for fire prevention. It's also linked to more than 40,000 deaths in the U.S. yearly.
A danger arises when asbestos fibers are released in the air that could increase the risk of developing severe illness, including lung disease; mesothelioma, a rare type of cancer found in the lining of the lung, chest and heart; and ovarian and laryngeal cancers.
Steps taken to keep the asbestos fibers out of the air at the old Doherty school site include using filtered water to wet down all contaminated materials and machinery. In addition, hammering was confined to the side of the concrete foundation that does not contain asbestos, and exterior bricks will be carefully removed so interior asbestos coating won't be disturbed.
All workers removing asbestos will have the required training and licensing, plus wear personal protective equipment.
Continuous monitoring
American Environmental Inc. in Holyoke is managing the asbestos removal, and there will be continuous on-site monitoring to ensure safety, according to the work plan signed by Worcester schools, that includes visual inspections and continuous air sampling by Universal Environmental Consultants, a licensed project monitor based in Framingham.
Five air monitors will take five samples every morning and five more each afternoon. The state DEP receives the results. Analysis is done immediately and reported to the on-site asbestos supervisors within one hour of collection.
Work stops if air samples match or exceed the Massachusetts Department of Labor Standard of .010 asbestos fibers per cubic centimeter.
In addition, at least one in four workers involved in a particular job to remove the asbestos will wear an air monitor. If results exceed .010 asbestos fibers per cubic centimeter, all work is halted. State environmental officials must get the results within an hour and set necessary changes to ensure worker safety.
Other layers of protection include an on-site decontamination chamber, and all heavy equipment is decontaminated at the end of every shift. Also, trucks that carry contaminants off-site are washed before departure, and the runoff is safely collected in accordance with Massachusetts environmental regulations, according to the plan.
Trucks are also labeled on all sides during transport to identify the contaminants.
Besides daily inspections, a final inspection will comb through the site after all materials containing asbestos are removed, according to the plan. If toxic remnants are found, then they will be removed, plus 2 to 3 inches of soil will be dug up and disposed of as a precaution. Soil removal, up to 2-inch increments, will continue until no contaminants are found.
Recycling is part of the job
Beyond disposal of contaminated materials, a statement from the city said some debris from the old school will be recycled including bricks, blocks and concrete. Those materials will be sent off to facilities the city didn't identify, where they will be crushed and likely reused as sand and gravel.
Metal, steel beams, decking and reinforcing rods called rebar will also be recycled.
A statewide look
Beyond the asbestos and noncontaminated items tied to the former Doherty High demolition, there is an ambitious plan to cut solid-waste disposal statewide. Construction and demolition debris falls in the solid-waste category.
Massachusetts set a goal of reducing solid waste by 1.7 million tons by 2030. That represents a 30% reduction, based on a 2018 baseline of 5.7 million tons that falls to 4 million tons by 2030. The plan established by the state DEP also aims to cut 5.1 million tons of solid waste by 2050, representing a 90% reduction.
Recent information from state environmental officials shows how much solid waste Massachusetts generated and deposited both here in Massachusetts and out of state.
The latest yearly results are for 2022, when Massachusetts generated 6 million tons of solid waste, including 3.4 million tons sent to landfills and incinerators in Massachusetts. Of those 3.4 million tons, the vast majority (2.9 million tons) went to incinerators with the rest (500,000 tons) to landfills.
The Westminster landfill in North Central Worcester County is one of five active landfills in Massachusetts. Westminster’s landfill held 265,541 tons of solid waste in 2022, with a permitted capacity of 538,200 tons.
Millbury has one of five municipal solid waste incinerators statewide. The plant collected 491,938 tons of solid waste in 2022, with a permitted capacity of 529,575 tons.
More exports than imports
Meanwhile, Massachusetts sent 2.8 million tons of solid waste to other states in 2022, while 300,000 tons arrived from outside the state.
States that received the most waste from Massachusetts included Ohio (1.2 million tons), New Hampshire (590,416 tons), New York (397,971 tons) and Alabama (226,611 tons).
The New Hampshire Legislature is reportedly debating a limit on the amount of trash arriving from other states that ends up in its landfills. Maine prohibits solid waste coming from outside its border to be deposited in state-owned landfills. Federal law doesn’t stop private companies in Maine from taking the waste.
Meanwhile, the states sending the most solid waste into Massachusetts in 2022 included Rhode Island (135,552 tons) and New Hampshire (116,834 tons).
Contact Henry Schwan at henry.schwan@telegram.com. Follow him on X: @henrytelegram .
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Asbestos removal part of demolition work at old Doherty High in Worcester
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