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November 22nd, 2005
Further to a project set up by Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell, officials are now undertaking the task of visiting abandoned mills and mill sites in order to try and identify any environmental hazards that are present and to implement solutions before any serious issues can arise. The project was ordered following problems with fires at abandoned mills, which then caused contaminants such as asbestos to be released into the air and create a serious health risk.
Five coordinators have been assigned to visit around fifty vacant mills. The officials have been assigned by the state Emergency Management and Homeland Security Department, and they will be attending the mills along with fire department employees in order to determine the presence and the risk of hazards such as asbestos in the buildings. The officials have been asked to compile information on the sites and their potential hazards.
It was originally expected that the information relating to all of the mills and any hazards that have been identified would be compiled and available by the beginning of December this year. However, some town did not provide sufficient information about the presence of mills in the areas or the potential problems that could arise from materials in the mills. The coordinators will now compile this information through visiting the sites.
"We're finding that a lot of people don't know a lot about these sites within their own community," said one official. It was also pointed out that the fires at these building could be really serious due to their structure. "Most of the mill fires that you see usually end up being totally consuming because of the amount of wood that's in the building."
