Zonolite bags removed from U.S. Highway 2 home

Officials with the Asbestos Resource Program successfully removed two bags of Zonolite insulation found in the attic of a U.S. Highway 2 home in recent weeks.

ARP staff member Elzhon Anderson first announced the find during a January meeting of the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners. On Feb. 16, he told the trio that ARP oversaw the removal of the bags after inspecting the rest of the property, drafting a scope of work and securing state Department of Environmental Quality approval.

Environmental Restoration handled the physical removal and performed a spot cleaning of the area, he said.

As for other ongoing projects, Anderson said landowners on Mineral Avenue planned to contact the agency when they receive an invoice for abatement work on the property. A soil removal project on Riverside Drive in Troy remains in a holding pattern after the property owner fell out of contact, he said.

“We’ve all been trying to get hold of her for months now,” Anderson told commissioners. “She just disappeared. We’ll keep trying.”

Officials have tentatively planned a sampling project on another Troy property for the spring. The land was originally deemed non-use, but since has undergone development, Anderson said.

“There is a high likelihood that that one will have contamination there as well,” Anderson said.

Back in Libby, Anderson said a project on Michigan Avenue remains on hold. ARP officials were waiting on the property owner to select a contractor. Officials are tentatively planning to sample soil on a Terrace View property in the spring as well. Vermiculite was found there after several trees were removed, Anderson said.

For the month of January, ARP received 14 hotline calls. Ten came from Libby and the remainder from Troy. Most were requests for status letters, Anderson said.

The agency also received 14 utility digging requests that month, he said. ARP employees conducted four site visits in January.