Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 15, 1990 TAG: 9007150183
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: E6 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: Medium
Briarfield Park was closed Friday, two weeks after a resident found pieces of transite siding, a precursor to aluminum siding, on a softball field. The siding may have been used in World War II-era houses that occupied the site until they were torn down in the 1960s.
City parks director Thomas H. Daniel said a laboratory analysis found that 40 percent of the siding contained chrysotile asbestos, which can cause lung cancer when breathed.
Yellow tape was placed around the boundaries of the park that has four lighted softball fields, four picnic shelters, five lighted tennis courts, a children's playground and restrooms. Recreation director Charles R. Badger said the park is regularly used by 111 softball teams, or 2,700 players.
"We don't have enough analysis yet to even prove there is a risk," said Bill Faciane, a facilities planner for the city's General Services Department. "All we're saying is there is a potential."
"There is a potential health hazard because we have contaminated soil," said John Karafa, manager of the asbestos services group of Law Engineering, a consulting firm hired by the city to assist in the testing and cleanup. "This has to be considered a hazardous waste site."
Daniel said federal and state agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, have been notified of the problem.
City Attorney A. Paul Burton said he will not know how much the asbestos problem will cost the city until officials know the type and extent of testing to be performed and the scope of any subsequent cleanup. He said the ultimate solution could range from doing nothing, if there is no proven threat, to digging up the entire park.
by CNB