Contractor cleaning up Su Valley school sites

Frontiersman

TALKEETNA — Debris containing asbestos taken from the former Su Valley Jr. High/High School campus is being cleared from a secondary storage site, a Mat-Su Borough official said. No significant contamination is expected to remain at the campus site.

Accidental contamination of concrete debris happened when 1970s-vintage tiles and mastic containing asbestos fibers were not removed prior to demolition of the school’s old slab foundation.

“I commend [project contractor] Alaska Demolition on their expediency and the response they have exercised,” Borough Public Works Department Project Manager Bud Lovel said.

It cost the demolition firm $50 a ton to dispose of the contaminated portions of slab. Lovel said other structural members, such as footings, were not contaminated and were disposed of as clean fill. He said all regulatory agencies were notified of the potential for contamination and the state gave the contractor until Nov. 2 to complete the cleanup.

Asbestos-containing air ducts have already been removed without incident from the site and were disposed of as regulated waste in a certified dump, Lovel said. Almost all of the material in the contaminated piles was OK; one simply couldn’t tell which small portion of the debris might contain asbestos.

“It’s really an unfortunate deal the materials got cross-contaminated,” Lovel said.

The demolition is part of the Borough’s effort to rebuild the school, which was destroyed in a June 5 fire. A local senior center campus has been modified to house the school and its students until Su Valley can be rebuilt.