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Journal North: Home | Sports | Opinion | Obits | Entertainment
Friday, August 01, 2008
Official: School Rid of Asbestos
By Raam Wong
Journal Staff Writer
Asbestos was properly removed from old buildings at the Santa Fe Indian School about a month before demolition work began, the project's manager said Thursday.
"It was all abated before it was demolished," said Scott Taylor, senior project manager for Flintco, the Indian-owned national construction company in charge of tearing down the old campus and building the nearly completed $50 million new one.
The 19 New Mexico pueblos that own the school last weekend began bulldozing numerous dilapidated homes and other structures that have long been a part of the Cerrillos Road cityscape.
Historic preservationists were dismayed by the loss of the structures, some of which were thought to be more than a hundred years old and contain New Deal-era murals. Meanwhile, some residents have expressed concern that the demolition was releasing asbestos and other toxins into the air along a busy thoroughfare.
Taylor declined to describe what measures were taken to abate the asbestos because the school was expected to release a statement on the issue. Taylor did tell the Journal that there was no risk to the public in the demolition.
School governmental liaison Gil Vigil said he had no comment and stood behind a statement released Tuesday saying the buildings were being razed to protect the campus community as well as the public.
Tressa Tillman, a Dallas-based spokeswoman for the Environmental Protection Agency, said tribal officials properly notified the agency of the project.
"We will conduct a review with the tribe on Monday," Tillman said. "At this time, we feel comfortable that all protocols and regulations were followed."
The concern over asbestos exposure was underscored Wednesday by a letter state Environment Secretary Ron Curry sent to the SFIS school board.
"I am sending this letter to respectfully express concerns I have about reports of the demolition of buildings possibly containing asbestos at the Santa Fe Indian School," Curry wrote. "As you may know, adverse health effects associated with asbestos exposure have been extensively studied for many years."
Inhaling asbestos dust is associated with lung cancer and other diseases, Curry wrote. The letter stated that while the school is outside state jurisdiction, the department would like to offer its expertise in air quality capabilities.
The school, founded in 1890, became renowned for Indian arts in the 1930s. The Institute of American Indian Arts was also located on the campus for many years.