Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 19, 1990 TAG: 9007190307
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-7 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: By Associated Press
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: Medium
The 50-acre Briarfield Park was closed Friday when siding material containing asbestos was discovered. Officials said Tuesday the park would remain closed until Aug. 3.
Dr. R. Leonard Vance, an associate professor of preventive medicine at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, was hired by the Hampton City Council to assess the risk from the asbestos siding.
Vance said the tests showed no current health risk at the park. Officials are checking two nearby sites where the same material is thought to have been dumped.
Officials said they believe the material came from buildings constructed in the area during World War II to house defense workers and servicemen.
Vance said six of the 20 air samples taken at the park showed no signs of asbestos. Airborne asbestos has been linked to cancer and other respiratory problems.
"The probability of contracting any asbestos-related disease is very low," said Vance, a certified industrial hygienist who directs asbestos training programs as MCV.
Vance believes other tests are necessary before he can say whether there will be any problem with the asbestos in the future.
Thomas Daniel, the city's parks director, said he is encouraged by the test results but is awaiting the results of further tests before he opens the park. Daniel has been mapping out the area that was used for the World War II housing in an effort to find the extent of the problem.
He said many of the buildings built during that time used wood siding and do not pose a hazard.
by CNB