NorthIowaToday.com

Founded in 2010

News & Entertainment for Mason City, Clear Lake & the Entire North Iowa Region

NIT Publisher Marquardt letter to Iowa DNR on Madison School debris

Letter from NorthIowaToday.com Publisher Matt Marquardt to Iowa Department of Natural Resources regarding demolition of Madison School:

Dust and debris fly all over the surrounding neighborhood near Madison School
Dust and debris fly all over the surrounding neighborhood near Madison School last week

The school district is tearing down a very old school here in Mason City. As part of our news coverage for NorthIowaToday.com, I went to the school to take pictures and video of the demolition. The demo was on-going for weeks; it is mostly done now. I spoke to residents that live all around the school and they complained about the huge amount of dust blowing from the site. When I went to see what was going on (April 13), I was appalled at the amount of dust blowing from the debris heap. It was so thick you couldn’t breath. The debris had tiny silver particles in it, flying all through the air. People are saying it was (is) asbestos. In fact, my own throat burned for 2 days after my brief visit to the site.

This seems like a very dangerous situation. I notified police, the school district and the city of Mason City about my concerns for public safety. I only received a response from a councilman (Alex Kuhn) and a city official. The official stated “Demolition activities are subject to requirements of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The contractor must conform to their requirements.” Another official said “I spoke with Bob McKiness this afternoon. He agrees that there was fugitive dust leaving the site during yesterday’s demolition activity. He noted that during demolition they encountered an area of extremely dry material. The dry material was blown off-site by strong winds. McKiness’ crew was watering the debris and the pile today to keep dust under control. There are strong winds forecast for tomorrow. He hopes that they will be able to control the dust.”

As I understand it, the school debris is being dumped in an open area on the city’s north side. I am not sure what, if any, safety precautions have been taken or if there are hazardous materials in there.

I do believe the Iowa DNR needs to take a look at this situation, as local officials do not seem keen on making sure the public is protected. Please view the following story and accompanying video for yourselves to see the dust and debris at the demo site of Madison School. I will look forward to your response.

(PREVIOUS STORY)

Matt Marquardt
NorthIowaToday.com Publisher

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

11 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Even more news:

Watercooler
Copyright 2024 – Internet Marketing Pros. of Iowa, Inc.
11
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x