Tarentum to check for asbestos in buildings eyed for demolition

Tarentum plans to hire a contractor to test more than two dozen buildings for asbestos.

The 28 buildings are among the 33 now on the borough’s demolition list.

Three companies submitted bids for the work. The lowest bid of $11,175 came from Corwin Inspections, borough Manager Michael Nestico said.

Having all 28 buildings tested at one time for about $400 each will cost the borough half of what testing them individually would cost, Nestico said.

The five not being tested already have been inspected.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations require that buildings being demolished by a government entity be tested for asbestos before any demolition can begin.

Council was to vote to award the contract Thursday, but the meeting was canceled when not enough of its members were present for the council to do business. Council does not meet again until August.

The cost doesn’t include any remediation should asbestos be found, Nestico said. That would be handled by the demolition contractor.

Whether buildings contain asbestos will be included in the demolition bid package, Nestico said.

The borough has budgeted about $150,000 for building demolitions this year, including the cost of asbestos testing. How many are ultimately torn down will depend on the cost, Nestico said.

Having all of the buildings tested for asbestos will make them ready for demolition, without delay, should a contractor be able to take down more buildings than initially anticipated within the borough’s budget, Code Enforcement Officer Anthony Bruni said.

“I’d rather have the asbestos testing ready to go,” he said. “The asbestos status isn’t going to change.”

The borough recently tried to contact the owners of the 33 buildings. Of the letters sent, 19 came back as undeliverable.