Can Asbestos Be Truly Remediated?

The Real Estate Espresso Podcast

Can Asbestos Be Truly Remediated?

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Can Asbestos Be Truly Remediated?

Welcome to The Real Estate Espresso Podcast. Your morning shout at what’s new in the world of real estate investing. I’m your host, Victor Menasce. On today’s show, we’re talking about remediation prior to demolition.

A Utah businessman is facing federal charges after he allegedly failed to clean up over 3300 tons of asbestos-containing debris, following a hotel demolition in Tawila, a suburb of Salt Lake City. Daniel Brett, 68 years of age of Utah, allegedly violated federal Clean Air Act and faces three related charges. Prosecutors allege that the hotel had asbestos in its insulation, the flooring, and the roofing, which the owners have reportedly known about since 2011.

Brett and his partner coordinated with an excavation company, allegedly untrained and uncertified to work with asbestos-containing material, to demolish the hotel. However, Brett failed to clean up the debris after his business partner passed away a year later in 2021. The asbestos-containing debris sat on the demolished lot for 15 months before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency moved in to pick it up. Emergency removal is reported to cost the EPA $1.1M.

Asbestos remediation is a pressing global issue. In Rotterdam in the Netherlands, a company is developing an innovative solution. They shred and wetten large sheets of asbestos cement, then mill and heat an alkaline slurry to dissolve the toxic asbestos fibers. The goal is to render asbestos into an inert product that can be used in construction without any harm to people or the environment.

Yet despite declining production, asbestos remains a massive problem. Around 1.3 million tons of asbestos were mined in 2022, with most coming from Russia and Kazakhstan, followed by Brazil and China. Although the U.S. announced its intention to ban all forms of asbestos, the mineral is still hidden in buildings and water pipes all over the world.

The goal now must be to find better and more permanent solutions to asbestos remediation, in order to prevent the so-called ‘fourth wave’ of asbestos exposure – environmental exposure around landfills, in the air, and potentially in water. The hope is that innovative technologies, like the one being developed in the Netherlands, will play a crucial part in this effort.

As you think about that, have an awesome rest of your day. Go make some great things happen. We will talk to you again tomorrow.

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