April 11th, 2005

Activists and residents in a North Berkeley community have spoken out about the dangers of demolishing a building that is packed with toxic waste. The worried residents and activists have stated that the building should be left alone rather than being demolished and all of the toxic waste being carted away and being leaked into the air in the local area.

The unused building in the Berkeley Hills is currently being targeted for demolition but plans are still in the early stages. However, if some of the residents have their way the demolition will not take place. The controversy surrounds the Bevatron and the surrounding building. It was revealed that plans have been started for the demolition because the funds have only recently been released by the Department of Energy.

Officials have confirmed that there is toxic waste and material within the building, including asbestos, but that much of the waste is low level toxic waste. Many officials have stated that the funding was the only thing stopping the demolition in the past, and now that funding had been released there was no reason to delay any further. “We’re moving forward now because we have the money from DOE and we feel the site needs to be demolished.”

However, residents are more concerned about radioactive waste and contamination. One person stated: “LBNL should be on the cutting edge on demolition and disposal of these types of structures but they’re still doing this in the same old sloppy way.”