September 21st, 2005

The burnt out shell of a dance hall in Lebanon has to be tested for asbestos following a recent arson attack. The Bar None Dance Hall, located downtown, needs to be tested so that authorities can determine what sort of precautions need to be put into place when the debris from the arson attack is cleared.

The owner of the dance hall stated: "To my knowledge, there was absolutely no asbestos anywhere on the premises. That's all I was informed." EPA officials have stated, however, that the testing needs to be carried out to ensure safety regulations are met when the fire debris is cleared. The presence of asbestos could also impact upon a restaurant located opposite the burnt out dance hall.

It has also been confirmed that the owner of the dance hall will have to pay for the inspection and testing to be carried out, and he is looking for competitive quotes to have the debris removed as well. He stated: "My attorney and I were talking about that in the last two or three days. I think he said I had to pay a federal inspector to do the inspection, which irritated me a little, since he's a federal employee."