Cleanup Complete at Taunton Factory

Article Added February 12th, 2006 - Print This Story - Bookmark This Story

A $150,000 cleanup by the EPA at the former New Jersey Rubber Co. is complete. The limited demolition and removal of the remaining asbestos debris contained the fiber and kept it from becoming air born.

The EPA was safely able to remove the asbestos from the boiler room and adjacent smoke stacks, as well as the pipe wrap throughout the buildings, with controlled demolition. The decrepit Rubber Company building located on a seven acre site near residential Route 44 was used for a variety of operations from the early 1900s to the late 1990s. The buildings were then condemned, and the advanced state of decomposition led to the exposure of asbestos to the environment. The EPA moved in to contain the potential hazard of air born asbestos particles.

Taunton officials worked closely with the EPS and the state Department of Environmental Protection in order to coordinate the project, ensuring that the public and those involved in the cleanup were protected as the material was removed. The remaining buildings, the site of an arson fire last October, remains while funding is sought to complete the demolition. The decision to remove the asbestos came after the deterioration of the buildings and the potential for exposure became too much of a concern, with officials leaving the remaining destruction for further decisions.

Article Added February 12th, 2006 - Print This Story - Bookmark This Story