The Little City Building Site’s (LCB) owner of over ten years, attempted to clean up the building for possible redevelopment and/or sale.  The contractor hired by the owner in fact gutted the building for scrap causing flooding, severe structural problems and the release of ACM throughout the building.  Future attempts to sell the site were unsuccessful due to the ACM release and structural concerns.  The owner offered to donate the building to the City of Ottawa, as they no longer had financial resources to address the deteriorating conditions in the building.  The City of Ottawa hired consultants to conduct asbestos and structural surveys of the building in 2014, which confirmed ACM release and imminent structural concerns.  The City of Ottawa requested assistance from EPA due to the escalating costs for ACM cleanup, structural repairs and /or demolition of the site.  EPA conducted an assessment of the building and found additional structural damage, giving concern that partial or complete structural failure of the building is imminent.  The Site was referred to the Region 5 Superfund Program through the Brownfield’s Program.

The Site comprises approximately 34,200 square feet, is a five story multi-wythe brick wall and timber floor framed structure constructed in 1902. The building’s exterior west wall shows significant signs of failure due to years of water damage.  Several windows are now open as past board-up measures have failed.  A large area of the roof has collapsed resulting in the pancaking of floor sections on all five stories of the building.  Extreme damage to all interior rooms is apparent from many years of neglect and water damage.  The City has placed barriers along the south and west perimeters to keep pedestrians clear of the building. 

The Site is located at 112 West Madison Street, Ottawa, LaSalle County, Illinois. The building abuts existing structures to the east with a small alley to the west.  A parking lot is situated to the north and the south face is the original main entrance along Madison Street sidewalk.  The building is in the downtown business district. The Site’s geographical coordinates are 41.3468 North latitude and -88.8420 West longitude.     

The Site presents a threatened and an ongoing release of hazardous substances.  Past actions to secure the building show evidence of failing, several windows are now open as board-up measures have failed and the roof is partially exposed, posing potential release of ACM to the environment.  This building is severely damaged and contains friable ACM throughout the inside which would pose an imminent and substantial threat to public health should the building suffer a catastrophic failure.

The removal site evaluation utilized data from the Comprehensive NESHAP Asbestos Survey conducted January of 2014, by Midwest Environmental Consulting Services and Building Structural Survey conducted August 2014, by Fehr-Graham Engineering for the City of Ottawa, which documented the following site conditions.

A total of 25 homogeneous areas were sampled, with 12 areas testing positive for asbestos (Chrysotile 1-20%), and one area (boiler insulation) not sampled due to site conditions but assumed to be asbestos.  The ACM included air cell pipe insulation, floor tile, mastic, caulking, window glazing and boiler insulation, all mixed with building debris observed throughout all five floors and basement of the building.  An estimated 200 linear feet of pipe insulation and 280 square feet of boiler insulation were identified.  All asbestos was considered friable.

The bulk sampling strategy was based upon the protocol of homogenous areas established by the USEPA.  A homogeneous sampling area (HSA) is defined as an area of material that is uniform in color, texture, construction, general appearance, and date of installation.  Bulk samples of suspect ACM were analyzed by Polarized Light Microscopy (PLM) utilizing the EPA-600/M4-82-020 Method.  Bulk samples were analyzed using Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) “positive stop” protocol, meaning each sample of each HAS group is analyzed until asbestos is found in the HAS or all samples in the group are analyzed and are negative for asbestos content.

Fehr-Graham Engineering performed an investigation of the building to ascertain the existing conditions and to make recommendations for necessary shoring and stabilization to allow the asbestos to be mitigated. 

The collapsed floors along the west elevations have rendered the wall unsupported for its entire height.  Masonry walls rely upon the lateral bracing provided by the floor systems.  The bowing of the west wall observed from the exterior is consistent with unsupported masonry walls of this height.

The sagging floors immediately south of the collapsed bay require shoring along with areas of the fourth and fifth floors.  Repairs to all levels require access between floors, which is currently limited due to the poor condition of the stairs.  Further, any vibrations that are caused by stabilization work could be detrimental to the exterior masonry walls.

Fehr-Graham’s professional opinion concludes that without stabilization and re-roofing the building may suffer from a partial or full collapse.

USEPA also conducted an assessment of the building on January 28^th, 2015, to provide a second opinion regarding the structural integrity of the building.  A structural engineer from USEPA START contractor Tetra Tech inspected the building and agrees with the Fehr-Graham conclusions.  Furthermore, additional damage was discovered on the exterior side of the west wall of the building during the site visit increasing concern that partial of complete structural failure of the building is imminent unless stabilization or controlled demolition measures are taken immediately.