Asbestos is a problem in many older buildings around the nation, and the hazardous chemical has been detected at buildings in Ames as well.

Bret Voorhees, public relations manager for Iowa Workforce Development, said asbestos recently was detected at a remodeling site in Ames.

He said plans to remodel the former Phi Delta fraternity house at 325 Welch Ave. into an apartment complex were stymied when workers encountered asbestos in the building.

“During the remodeling, some workers went in there, bashed down the dry wall and released a bunch of asbestos, both within the building and also outside on the grounds,” Voorhees said.

Voorhees said after the asbestos was detected, steps were taken to seal off the building.

“For about a month before May 10, these workers were in there breaking down the drywalls and sledgehammering the place,” he said. “Then around May 10, they got the asbestos contractor. The contractor then put up caution tape and plastic around the building.”

During the weekend of May 15, vandals apparently broke into the building after it was sealed, Voorhees said.

“It looks like somebody slit the plastic, went in there, bashed up some stuff and had a few beers,” he said.

“We want everyone to know that this is not a building you want to play around in. It’s not a place you want to go have a drink,” he said.

Voorhees said it is important that people understand the dangers and hazards of asbestos, a material that was commonly used as an insulator in buildings until it was disovered to be a public health risk.

“Asbestos is a dangerous material that has been linked to some lung problems and certain types of cancer,” he said. “There is some evidence that some people have entered that building, and we want to make sure that people know there is some definite danger in entering that building.”

Marion Burnside, environmental specialist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, expressed a similar sentiment.

“Asbestos is a known carcinogen – it causes cancer,” he said.

Burnside said absestos can also cause asbestosis, an ailment which causes a section of the lungs to be sealed off. This can create difficulties in breathing and can bring on heart attacks.

However, Burnside said the effects are often long-term and are not felt right away.

“If you have been exposed, the aftereffects are usually not instantaneous,” he said.

“It does take a long time to show up. You may be sick and not even know it,” Burnside said.

Burnside said asbestos usually is not detected in buildings until the renovation and demolition process is started.

“There are 3,600 different building materials that they put [asbestos] in to. Those building materials have good uses,” Burnside said.

“But when you start to renovate and demolish, you disturb the asbestos, and that’s when the regulation kicks in. The regulation is part of the Clean Air Act, which is the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants,” he said.

There are two parts to the regulation, Burnside said.

“The first part of the regulation requires a thorough inspection,” he said.

He said inspectors must determine if there is asbestos in the area they are going into.

“If it’s there, then they have to remove it using licensed contractors, and then they have to notify the Department of Natural Resources,” he said.

Burnside said it is mandatory that the DNR be notified right away.

“Both the notification for the asbestos removal and the demolition projects allows the DNR inspector time to come and check the work, so it is required that the DNR is notified in writing right away,” he said.

Voorhees said he expects construction on the building on Welch Avenue to continue at a later date after the asbestos has been cleared.

“Now that they have a licensed contractor to work over the next weeks, that person will remove the asbestos, and then construction crews can come in and work on the place without having to worry about dangers,” he said.

Voorhees said further steps also have been taken to isolate the building.

“There is still quite a bit of debris around the parking lot and the grounds around the house from the pictures,” he said, “but there is a fence up, and there are also some other barriers blocking the place.

“We don’t want people in there, and so we are trying to take steps to make it difficult to get in there,” he said.