The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is interpreting federal regulations regarding asbestos removal in a way that requires land banks to “assess every house for asbestos if it is part of a larger urban-renewal project,” even though land bank officials say they can tell if a house doesn’t have asbestos based on “when it was built,” The Columbus Dispatch reports. This requirement has increased the cost of demolitions dramatically and has delayed such demolitions for months. With an estimated 100,000 vacant and abandoned houses in cities and towns across Ohio, officials from Ohio land banks are working with U.S. EPA representatives to determine a compromise that will reduce the number of houses that must be inspected for asbestos while still protecting workers and neighbors from asbestos hazards, the article said.
Federal asbestos regulations delay Ohio land banks from demolishing scores of abandoned homes
