Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for September 21, 2006 ABANDONED CAIRO HOSPITAL

From the WPSD TV Channel 6 website...

IL: Government Funds $1.9 Million To Cleanup Abandoned Hospital

Mary Bleier,
WPSD NewsChannel 6

Last October, NewsChannel 6 broke the story of the old abandoned hospital building in Cairo, left open for kids, homeless and vandals. The building is filled with expired medicines, needles and thousands of old medical records dating back to the 1960s. After NewsChannel 6 made some phone calls, the state and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency got involved. Senator Barack Obama also joined in and put pressure on the state to fix the problem. Since then, the EPA spent months testing samples taken from the hospital and its surrounding area to see how much asbestos was in the building and how far it traveled.

U.S. EPA regional director Kevin Turner says they discovered that the asbestos was indeed outside the building and it created a community health hazard. Because of that, the government recently decided to fund the massive cleanup. Turner says he's been authorized up to $1.9 million to complete the project, which is expected to start in late October.

"There are other agencies involved, however the funding is strictly from the U.S. EPA," says Turner.

Brian Watts, who has lived across the street from the hospital for ten years, is excited to hear the good news. Watts and his family are concerned about the asbestos problem.

"Whatever it takes, I hope they get it done," says Watts." Whether it's $1.9 million or $5 million, I hope they just get the job done."

The project is expected to take about six months. The Illinois EPA and the state public health departments will help with the process.