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I hope this is a good spot to ask this question.....
I live in a rural area and on my walk today I noticed a pile of asbestos somebody recently dumped on the side of the road. (pigs)
It wouldn't concern me much normally but when the county lawnmower comes by it hits this pile of asbestos fragmenting it further. This is how I noticed the pile was asbestos- it was dumped a few months ago but from the way it was set out it looked like flat white stone. The mower came by this week and hit it which shows that it is asbestos.
Is it considered hazordous waste? I was hoping to call the highway department next week and ask them to remove it from their right of way.
I walk this road every day and really don't want to walk by a pile of asbestos.
Well this isn't my area of expertise but I would consider calling the county health department and reporting it. If they feel it is a public hazard, perhaps they will them contact the road department and require its removal.
If it really is asbestos (and not drywall, which can look like asbestos if it is broken apart), the county health or public works department might have to hire a hazardous materials contractor to remove the stuff. Many county public works departments are not equipped for haz mat handling and removal. It's usually safer and more cost effective to hire an expert contractor than to maintain all the special equipment needed for every possible type of hazardous stuff they might encounter once in a rare instance.
if the stuff turns out to be Chinese drywall that plagued the building industry about 6 or 7 years ago, it might need to be handled like asbestos because it is laced with hazardous chemicals.
One thing to keep in mind, Is even if the County cleans it up, they will look to recover cost of the cleanup (could be Thousands or 10's of ) dollars from the owner of the land it was dump'ed onto.
The adjacent landowner is a victim here, but still might be hit with the cleanup costs, because the way cost recovery is done, since they can't bill it to the dumper.
Call the country health dept as recommended. its depends on what they found; of course the county mowers should have already reported it if not just sheetrock. If its remove its like not going to be thousands to wet and bad and most counties are use to handling and disposing of it thru industry in such circumstances.
One thing to keep in mind, Is even if the County cleans it up, they will look to recover cost of the cleanup (could be Thousands or 10's of ) dollars from the owner of the land it was dump'ed onto.
The adjacent landowner is a victim here, but still might be hit with the cleanup costs, because the way cost recovery is done, since they can't bill it to the dumper.
It sounds like it was dumped on the right-of-way, not on someone's private property. If that's the case the owner of the adjacent property wouldn't be held liable unless it turned out that he/she was the dumper.
If it were dumped on someone's private property, the property owner would be on the hook for the removal.
I believe right-of-way normally is private property. I know people with highway frontage usually still pay taxes on it where I come from. The right of way is just an easement. This may vary from place to place. As for if the property owner or the county will pay for clean-up, that will probably vary from place to place as well.
I guess it can varies. Right of ways near streets and even alleys are not private property; but public property. The owner however has certain rights to usage but must maintain it by cutting etc, But its still public property and no tax is leveled on it to adjacent owners. In fact no one can dump on it and that means even trash to be picked up legally.
Assuming that you are in Wartrace, Tenn., contact the Bedford County Highway Department at 684-4651 and let them know about it and your concerns. They should send someone over to check it out.
I called the highway dept Monday and they said they would "check it out".
I am 99% sure it is asbestos. It is over an inch thick and looks like rock. It also has some sort of fabric coating that appears to have been darkend by heat exposure.
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