Roofing work spills asbestos, forces restaurant closure

LIBBY - A Libby pizza shop has been shut down on short notice due to the possible presence of asbestos-contaminated vermiculite.

The building that houses Country Pizza was scheduled for asbestos cleaning next spring by the Environmental Protection Agency.

However, owner Neil Milner removed part of the roof last week to begin an addition to the upstairs.

He found vermiculite on the floor and swept it to the side of the attic that was still covered by roofing. In the process, an undetermined amount fell into the first-floor restaurant area, according to Country Pizza owner Diane Dunning.

Dunning discovered the situation on a Sunday when she went to the restaurant at 907 Mineral Ave. She reported it to the EPA and voiced concerns again during a community meeting with EPA project coordinator Jim Christiansen on Oct. 11.

"I don't understand why my landlord was allowed to disturb the vermiculite in the attic," Dunning said. "He was granted a building permit for a dirty building and he went ahead."

Christiansen replied, "That's not a good situation. We try to urge you not to mess with vermiculite asbestos. The stuff is dangerous."

He acknowledged the EPA cannot legally prevent landowners from working on their property, whether the building has been cleaned or not. However, he said Dunning's situation is different because the landowner's actions affected another person.

The EPA is compiling a plan to guide future cleanups, including problems such as Dunning's.

"That's a big something we're looking at," he said. "It's a sensitive issue, but something we definitely need to address."

It won't happen overnight, though. The cleanup plan won't be completed for several months.

One solution might be for EPA to give the city a list of buildings that have been cleaned and those that have not been, Christiansen said.

Dunning said there should be closer communication between EPA and local government. Her landlord agrees.

"I made a mistake by not having closer scheduling arrangements with EPA," Milner said. "It behooves you to work with EPA on their schedule, which I tried to do."

The agency has proposed hiring a community resource specialist to help area residents with asbestos issues. The EPA-funded Technical Advisory Group is looking into a federal grant to fund the position.

Mike Cirian, the EPA's remedial project manager and environmental engineer in Libby, confirmed that flakes of vermiculite reached the restaurant area. He said the dilemma between landlord and tenant caught EPA off guard.

"It's our first experience with this kind of thing," he said.

Cirian said the EPA will clean the building in two weeks rather than waiting until spring as previously planned. Country Pizza will be closed for about a month.

He echoed Christiansen's statement that EPA can't tell an owner not to work on their property.

"What we can tell them is you may be held liable if you hurt someone else," Cirian said. "You have a responsibility to your community."

EPA will not take action against Milner, he said, calling the incident an innocent mistake. A preliminary air test at the restaurant last week came back negative.

He said it costs EPA more to perform emergency cleanings such as the one at Country Pizza.

Dunning is worried about money, too. The abrupt closure affects her bottom line as well as her employees. She said she could have handled the lack of income better if there had been time to plan for it.

"It's paycheck to paycheck," Dunning said. "We operate on a shoestring and this was totally unexpected."