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Asbestos Could Dash City Plans

Hazardous material remains in old Allen Bennett hospital

by leland burch
EDITOR EMERITUS

Asbestos could dash the Greer City Council’s hopes of making a fast buck on Allen Bennett Memorial Hospital and the Roger Huntington Nursing Center buildings.
The council recently voted to accept the gift of the buildings from the Greenville Hospital System and put them on the
market. But if the eventual owner razes the buildings, asbestos abatement would be required.
Long-time Allen Bennett maintenance engineer Harvey Kennedy said that large quantities of asbestos have been removed from both buildings over the past 20 years, but some of the hazardous material remains in each structure.
Mayor Rick Danner said the potential for asbestos abatement “should not be an overriding concern. We have taken into consideration that we will probably have to sell these buildings for less than face value given the current economic environment.”
Danner admitted, however that “asbestos abatement would be a consideration for the end user of the property. I would assume that any buyer would take that into account when submitting a bid.”
Danner said, “I can’t imagine there would be any alarming issues since the buildings have been used as a certified health care facility for the last 40-50 years. The hospital system has been open with us and has not identified any issues that cause alarm.”
Danner said that city attorney John Duggan is working on drafting a contractual agreement to accept the facilities, but he does not know if the agreement would require an EPA Phase Two environmental study of the site or a clause protecting the city financially for responsibility for asbestos abatement.
A tentative agreement calls for the documents to be signed and the city take possession of the buildings by Sept. 30.
City Codes Administrator Phil more in my life than Rhoads recalled that an $8.7 million addition to Allen Bennett Hospital, consisting of a bed tower, outpatient center and new operating rooms, “was the first major construction
project that I had when I went to work for the city in 1987.
They uncovered asbestos in the original hospital at the time and spent about $1 million for abatement.”
Kennedy also remembers the event relating that “most of the original hospital was removed, and asbestos was found.
But we were up front with the citizens of Greer. We reported finding asbestos, brought in an air monitoring firm certified by DHEC and had DHEC come in and routinely check to make sure the abatement contractor was doing the job properly.”
Kennedy said the original abatement consisted of removing asbestos boiler and pipe insulation and sprayed on asbestos fireproofing on steel beams.
“We did not remove all of the asbestos from those beams. The only way to have done it would have been to have ripped out every exterior wall, and we did not disturb any of those walls,” he said.
All floor tiles containing asbestos were eventually removed from both buildings.
Kennedy said that another contractor abated asbestos fire proofing in the boiler room of Roger Huntington Nursing Center.
“After that, we made a sampling and found there is very little asbestos in the building, only on some seals in the fiberglass insulation on pipes under the floors.”
“Any remaining asbestos would have to be abated if either building is torn down.” Kennedy said.
A small area of the hospital is being used as a sleep disorder clinic, and Danner said the city “will work with them to make new arrangements depending on when we transfer the building to someone else.”

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