Community Relations - Fact Sheets

Former Magnolia School

Fact Sheet #1
September 2005

Magnolia, Illinois

Introduction

Based on the human health threat from exposure posed by the dilapidated, asbestos-containing former school located at the corner of Maple and Monroe in Magnolia, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) will demolish the building and cleanup the site using both Federal and State funding. Due to the condition of this former school, it is highly likely that asbestos fibers are being released to the environment allowing for an exposure to humans. Therefore, this exposure warrants corrective action.

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Site History and Background

This once functional and prospering school, has become not only an eyesore, but also a threat to the community it once served. The school was built in 1912 after two schools built prior were destroyed by fire. It closed in approximately 1960.

The imminent threat from the former Magnolia School is the asbestos exposure and physical hazards to trespassers and nearby residents. Collapsed floors, roofs and walls make it impossible to secure or abate this building therefore demolition is the only option for eliminating the threat.

The Threat from Asbestos

The imminent threat from the former Magnolia School is the asbestos exposure and physical hazards to trespassers and nearby residents. Collapsed floors, roofs and walls make it impossible to secure or abate this building therefore demolition is the only option for eliminating the threat.

Any level of exposure to asbestos involves some health risk, although the exact degree of risk is difficult to estimate. The relationship between exposure level and health risk is complex. When the fibers enter the air, individuals can be exposed and inhale the fibers. Those fibers retained by the lungs will remain indefinitely. Exposure to high levels of airborne asbestos is associated with a debilitating lung disease called asbestosis; a rare cancer of the chest and abdominal lining called mesothelioma; and cancers of the lung, esophagus, stomach, colon, and other organs.

Children and young adults who may be exposed to asbestos have a greater chance than older people of developing certain asbestos-related diseases due to a longer remaining lifespan during which disease may develop. Children and young adults are most often those involved in the trespassing and vandalism at the former school.

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Corrective Action: Using Federal and State Funding

• The corrective actions to be completed by SI Group, a licensed asbestos abatement contractor, involve:
  1. abatement of asbestos-containing material, where safe,
  2. wet demolition which requires wetting of the building material throughout the demolition activity
  3. sealing of asbestos-containing materials in leak tight containers; and
  4. air monitoring (which counts fibers suspended in the air) during the demolition.
• All asbestos material will be disposed of at a properly permitted landfill. At the landfill, the material is buried and covered immediately with six inches of compacted soil to prevent further disruption of the material.
• All work will be done in accordance to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (a Federal regulation under the Clean Air Act), Occupational Safety and Health Association Standards, Illinois EPA regulations and applicable Illinois Department of Public Health Regulations for Commercial and Public Buildings.
• The cost to demolish and dispose of the building remains is estimated at $137,000.
• The work is anticipated to begin late October and be completed within one to two months.

The City of Magnolia is the current owner of the property. The work to be done by Illinois EPA will enable the community to benefit in the following ways:

• a physical and environmental threat is removed from the community,
• property values can increase,
• the property can be utilized by the community for the residents of Magnolia.

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