Residents 'vindicated' by recent EPA report on asbestos exposure from hospital demolition

STATESVILLE, N.C. — Statesville residents who say they were forced to breathe in dangerous asbestos particles for months feel vindicated.

On Tuesday, Channel 9 reported that the  Environment Protection Agency ruled that North Carolina failed to take timely action to protect those neighbors during the demolition of the old Davis Hospital in Statesville.

Past coverage

• Residents upset after old hospital demolition halted
• Statesville eyesore to be torn down using tax money
• Medical records abandoned for more than 30 years in Statesville hospital

In November 2015, the state sent a letter saying it found “asbestos-containing materials” at the old Davis Hospital site and in debris.

A new report from the EPA says the state left neighbors at risk because it did not take action to timely remediate the site’s asbestos-containing waste material and demolition debris.

It said the state waited seven months to notify the EPA to get federal help with the cleanup.

"It's a feeling of vindication,” said Statesville resident Jonathan Dearman.  “That what we were concerned about. The federal government saw and vindicated our concerns.”

The EPA expects changes.

It asked state EPA officials to implement internal controls to make sure North Carolina follows the rules when it comes to the demolition of asbestos sites.

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