December 1st, 2004

A Halfmoon church, which has been pinpointed for demolition, is rife with asbestos. Construction workers carried out an inspection of the condemned building and found that asbestos was in parts of the ductwork and the window caulking. Officials have confirmed that the building cannot come down until all asbestos has been safely removed.

The Saint David's Anglican-Rite Holy Catholic Church was condemned and scheduled for demolition in April of this year. This was after the owner of the building made no efforts to repair or maintain the run-down church, and violated heath and safety issues because of the poor state of the building.

The caretaker of the church had been fighting to keep the building intact. However, the courts recently approved the decision made by town officials; that the church needed to be torn down because it was in a poor state of repair and was structurally unsafe. The building has been standing since before the Civil War.

Although the discovery of asbestos in and around the building has caused a delay, the church will still be demolished once all asbestos removal has been carried out. Because of the nature of asbestos – which is a deadly material that can cause a terminal cancer known as mesothelioma, as well as other related diseases – the removal of the asbestos must be carried out by experienced professionals before the building can be torn down.