Asbestos

This is a story about having to do things in order to be able to do other things—things that cost money that seems a waste.   Remember there was a property adjacent to the school we were involved with that the school now has an option to purchase so that at any time in the next five years, the school can choose to move forward with expansion and choose to buy the property?   Ah good, I knew you'd been paying attention.  

As part of the due diligence they performed as part of the contract, they requested the fuel oil tank be removed that was above ground, behind the house.   A fuel tank tens of feet away from toddlers didn't seem to be ideal.   During that process we discovered an additional underground tank that predated the above ground tank—and that tank had been seeping petroleum into the ground for probably decades.

That changed the simple tank removal to a tank removal plus tank dig up and soil removal of fifty-one tons of contaminated soil.   And they couldn't get it all.   They got most of it, but until the house was demolished, they couldn't do more.   Good thing we had had discussions all around and decided demolishing the proprety now seemed like a good idea.

In order to get a permit to demolish the house and two sheds you need a demolition permit.   Which we can't get yet because 1) the age of the hosue necessitates an asbestos inspection and 2) a survey of the property needs to be submitted.

And this is where I got a little miffed.   Half of it I retracted when we found out the results: there was indeed asbestos in the house on the floor in two bedrooms in the basement and the master bath floor.   As far as asbestos goes, this is pretty easy.   We now have to have the asbestos remediated by a company that removes it safely, removes it from the site and then provides document asserting that all contamination has been remediated.

I was fine with that—not the extra money, because it's never fun when unexpected costs arise.   I agreed we needed it properly disposed of.  The demolition was going to take place, again, tens of feet from the Children's House building with toddlers up to Kindergarten.   We didn't need particles of Asbestos in the air for them or for anyone else whereever the material travelled.

The survey though, I'm annoyed by.   We tried to doctor up a map of the property, drawing the two sheds on it but no go, we have to pay for a full survey of the property buildings just to get a permit so they can be torn down.   It's not necessary for the demolition, they can see the buildings.   But such is regulations.

By next week we hope to have the demolition permit and the buildings will be down shortly following.  Eighteen soil samples were taken from the first petroleum remediation with the leaking tank that had been buried within a foot of the house.  Only three of them came back with contamination.   There is a basement wall the tank was adjacent to, which will give the company additional depth they can dig to once the building is down.

Hopefully after all of this, the property will be in a better state for the school when they decide to expand and all environmental hazards will be removed.   In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy an asbestos- and petroleum-free parking space next door when I drop my son off at school.

The Big Boy Update:  Last night my son rehearsed his Mystery History presentation to Uncle Bob.   He could not stop moving.   The phrase, "bouncing off the walls" is about as accurate as I can get to describe him.   Out of control would be another.   I told Uncle Bob, "this is the ADHD".   We asked my son if the Adderall helped him and I talked to him about it on the ride to school this morning.   He agreed it would help him be able to stand in place and recite his lines calmly and with focus

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter just called me on her Apple Watch from Girls Run Club.   She was running extra laps with Brooklynn and they wanted to know if Brooklynn could have a play date soon.   She ran and we talked about her upcoming birthday and party planning.   The Apple Watch sounds so good.   I couldn't even tell she was running with her arm moving along with her pace.   The voice quality for both her and Brooklynn was flawless.   I don't talk much on my Apple Watch; my daughter is going to do so a lot it would seem.