New Asbestos Abatement Method

MEDIA ALERT

Cowtown Inn Demolition Update

March 12, 2004

For Immediate Release

To:      News Editors, Assignment Editors and Photo Editors

From:   Kathryn Hansen
           Environmental Management Department Regulatory/Environmental Coordinator
            817-392-8136

           Shay Bell
           Code Compliance Department Public Education Specialist
           817-871-8139

The City of Fort Worth has scheduled two open houses to provide information, answer questions and seek public feedback on the demolition of the Cowtown Inn. The first of the meetings will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 25, 2004, and the second is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 29, 2004. The open houses will be held at the Handley-Meadowbrook Community Center located at 6201 Beaty, Fort Worth, Texas, 76112. Representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the City of Fort Worth Environmental Management Department will be attending the open houses.

The Cowtown Inn is located at 6855 E. Lancaster in east Fort Worth in the historic Handley neighborhood. The site is an abandoned motel comprising nine structures totaling approximately 65,692 square feet.

Abandoned for approximately 15 years, the Cowtown Inn was brought before the City’s Building Standards Commission in September 1999 for a hearing to determine whether it should be declared substandard. The Commission issued an order declaring the site substandard and requiring that it be brought up to code or demolished. No attempt was ever made by the owners to comply with the order. The City of Fort Worth acquired the property in January 2001, through property tax foreclosure proceedings.

The City of Fort Worth is now proposing to use an alternative method of demolition for part of the facility, which contains quantities of asbestos. At this time, demolition is scheduled for July 2004. Asbestos can cause a variety of respiratory and other illnesses including cancer. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the City of Fort Worth are designing the test of the alternative demolition methods to ensure that the public will not be exposed to asbestos fibers. The Environmental Management Department plans to accomplish this by removing some asbestos materials prior to demolition, and by wetting other asbestos-containing materials during the demolition process so that asbestos fibers will not become airborne. An extensive monitoring system will be in place to ensure that asbestos is not released, as well as a clean-up plan in the event that a significant release occurs.

Another important risk consideration is the improved health and safety of an area that results when a vacant building like the Cowtown Inn is removed from a community. Abandoned buildings often represent a source of rodent and insect infestation, an attractive nuisance for children, and a magnet for illegal drug or vagrant activity.

For more information, you may contact

• Kathryn Hansen with the City of Fort Worth Environmental Management Department at 817-392-8136 or by email at kathryn.hansen@fortworthgov.org, or
• Mark Hansen with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at 214-665-7548 or by email at hansen.mark@epa.gov.

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