Venice on the web
A semi-regular column

City's utilities department deliberately exposed workers to asbestos
For the last 10 to 20 years, city workers have been improperly handling asbestos-concrete without the benefit of training or protection, all less than 40 yards from Utils Director John Lane's office; EPA launches new, separate investigation based on information discovered by Venice Florida! dot com
-- John Patten, 04/20/04
-- jpatten@veniceflorida.com

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Everything old is new again
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched a new preliminary investigation into the city's utilities department, this time over the city's handling of used asbestos-concrete pipe over the past 15 to 20 years.

Based on information uncovered by this web site and subsequently turned over to both city hall and the EPA, EPA criminal investigator Paul Bouffard, a specialist in asbestos crimes, has started a preliminary investigation into the city's practices of handling used asbestos-concrete pipe. Bouffard works in the EPA's Tampa office. This investigation is in addition to an ongoing EPA investigation into the city's utilities department over allegations of unlawful sewage spills and falsification of records, that investigation is being headed up by EPA criminal investigator Dan Green.

Additionally, City Manager Marty Black has requested a full report on asbestos-concrete pipe usage in the city from Utilities Director John Lane.

What's going on?
For anywhere from 15 to 20 years, the city has routinely dug up asbestos-concrete pipe. Not an uncommon occurrence, the problematic pipe has been used extensively throughout the United States to transport drinking water and sewage.

However, once dug up and cut up, the pipe poses a very real danger as asbestos fibers are released into the surrounding air as it is being cut. Additionally, the pipe can deteriorate and crumble, thus posing additional health threats.

The city has routinely been using a land area behind the city's drinking water plant (and adjacent to Hatchett Creek) as a temporary asbestos dump. Once at the water plant, city workers over the past 15 to 20 years have routinely been cutting the pipe up for disposal or for reuse, and they have been doing so without the benefit of education or certification in the handling of hazardous materials. Usually, the city workers have been doing the work without the benefit of any protective clothing or protective breathing apparatus as well.

It all came to a head some four or five weeks ago when a contractor for the D.O.T. dumped a reported three tons of asbestos-concrete pipe onto the ground behind the drinking water plant. The pile sat there uncovered for some three weeks until untrained city workers were ordered to dispose of the pipe. According to city documents (Adobe PDF file, opens in new window), the pipe was then picked up by Waste Management.

For a fuller explanation of the nature of the allegations raised by Venice Florida! dot com, listen to this report (MP3 audio file, 8:20, 4.25MBs) to Venice City Council by John Patten, recorded on April 13th. The picture files that go along with the audio report are below and are self-explanatory as you listen to the audio. If you are on dial-up, you can read a transcript here.

Workers who have additional information are encouraged to contact Patten and/or Bouffard. Their respective e-mail addresses are jpatten@veniceflorida.com and bouffard.paul@epa.gov

 John Patten is the head of Web Operations for Creative Pages, and has worked in broadcasting for over 12 years. He can also be incredibly rude at times.