January 11, 2007
By Greta Sproul

 The gymnasium at the Herbert Sargent Community Center has reopened after city officials closed it following the discovery of asbestos last November. The asbestos was discovered on Nov.22, when a small area under the basketball hoops broke off from the lower portion of the wall.

“The city took immediate steps to secure the exposed area and contacted Summit Environmental who advised the steps taken by the city were appropriate,” Peggy Daigle, Old Town city manager stated in a letter circulated to recreation program participants and their parents.

The city closed the gym completely in early December until a complete inspection of the asbestos-affected area could be conducted by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. Steve Zayzsly, compliance inspector for the DEP, carried out the inspection on Dec. 12.

            “(Zayszly) said that there was asbestos behind the floor mopboard, but that it wasn’t friable,” Daigle stated in her letter. “(He) also said that the City was in complete compliance with the building and no laws had been violated and that covering it up was acceptable.”

            Daigle added that, despite Zayszly’s assessment, the city believed it was “prudent” to hire County Abatement, an asbestos removal firm, to remove the small amount of asbestos from the gym. During the period in which County Abatement was removing the asbestos and cleaning up the gym, the doors were covered with plastic and duct tape placed over the seams until the work was completed.

            In his subsequent report on the inspection of the community center, Zayszly acknowledged a complaint in which “a parent expressed concerns that the exposed damaged asbestos-containing material was a health hazard” and which also alleged that “little if any action was taken by the City of Old Town to address the situation.” 

In addressing the complaint, Zayszly stated that the damaged, asbestos-containing areas behind the basketball hoops comprised “less than three square feet of transite board.” He described transite board as a “cementitious hard board that does not readily release asbestos fibers unless the board is extensively broken, crushed, or pulverized, rendering the material friable (airborne)…Subsequently, County Abatement was contracted to remove 17 square feet of asbestos-containing material from the gymnasium.”

            Zayszly added that, since the Herbert Sargent Community Center was no longer under the control of the Old Town School Department, the Federal Asbestos in School Rule, which did not apply to the situation. The Federal Asbestos in School Rule requires schools to implement an asbestos management plan for facilities under the control of the school department which includes inspection, routine monitoring, notification, and emergency procedures for fiber release incidents. But, according to Zayszly, ecause the community center was once a school, an asbestos management plan for the facility does exist.

            “The (DEP’s) role in this matter is to offer recommendations as no asbestos laws were violated,” he stated. “Any individual expressing a health concern for exposure to asbestos should consult with their physician. The Herbert Sargent Community Center contains asbestos-containing materials, such as vinyl asbestos floor tiles, in addition to the recently discovered transite board. (Since) an asbestos management plan exists (for the building)…I would recommend consultation with the school department’s asbestos designated person on implementing the existing plan for the community center.”