Cedar Rapids Weather
"Remediation" Crews Work Through Flooded Properties Before Demolition
CEDAR RAPIDS – If you drive around the flood-damaged parts of Cedar Rapids, you may come across tape surrounding homes marked for demolition.
Workers are spending hours in these properties, checking for hazardous materials. The plan is to keep doing this over and over again for the next few weeks. “850 homes. That’s our scope,” said Jeff Reinhard, field operations manager for Family Environmental. Reinhard said he works with two companies, Tetra Tech and Lindstrom Environmental, to clear hundreds of homes. “Lots of mold,” said Reinhard, when asked about what crews often find in the abandoned properties. “A lot of these homes people looked like they were eating dinner and knew the flood was coming. Lots of rodents and dead animals. Not a pretty scene.” Standing in the back alley of 1714 Ellis Boulevard NW, a two-story gray home, Reinhard said the hazardous materials will go from the property to the Linn County Solid Waste Agency for disposal. Tape surrounds the home, warning of the danger of asbestos and tells people not to enter. “If we didn’t go in and remove the hazardous materials, we’d have to pay the landfill three times the amount of money,” said Cedar Rapids Flood Recovery Director Greg Eyerly. “The goal is to do thirty (homes) a week.” Eyerly said the city will probably hire a contractor for the actual demolition “in the next week or two”. He said the property on Ellis would likely be demolished within 30 days. Just before noon, workers finally emerge from the condemned house to talk about what they discovered. “Asbestos wire and insulation in the attic,” said Dylan Dahl, a supervisor in the remediation process. “It can be really dangerous.” Dahl said the crew would probably still need another day or two before getting all of the materials out. Eyerly said Tetra Tech goes into these homes first to “classify what is in the house” and Lindstrom Environmental then performs the actual removal. He said this can serve as a form of checks and balances as “Lindstrom gets paid on the amount they remove”. Eyerly also said houses in the neighborhood marked with “TT” near the front door have already been inspected by Tetra Tech prior to demolition. Reinhard said, once all of the materials are discovered, workers will then double bag any materials, such as asbestos or paint, before taking them away. He said these remediation crews only take out hazardous materials and not any other items found in the property. More Good Stuff |
What's On KCRG
Most Popular >> |
Conversation Guidelines
Be Kind
Don't use abusive, offensive, threatening, racist, vulgar or sexually-oriented language.
Don't attack someone personally. Keep it civil and be responsible.
Share Knowledge
Be truthful. Share what you know and what you are passionate about.
What more do you want to learn? Keep it simple.
Stay focused
Promote lively and healthy debate. Stay on topic. Ask questions and give feedback on the story's topic.
Report Trouble
Help us maintain a quality comment section by reporting comments that are offensive. If you see a comment that is offensive, or you feel violates our guidelines, simply click on the "x" to the far right of the comment to report it.
read the full guidelines here »
Commenting will be disabled on stories dealing with the following subject matter: Violent crime, sexual abuse, Amber Alerts, Operation Quickfinds and suicides.
Most Popular >>