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Show Sunday, December 8, THE HERALD, Provo, Utah. 1991 Page E7 I Tha Associated Press By A health hazard. A drain on the economy. A toxic trouble spot. One abandoned factory can have a dramatic impact on a community. Here are three tales: The Dayton Tire & Rubber Co. factory has gone from proud employer to public nuisance. Since it closed in 1980, it has become an eyesore and potential hazard: Scavengers have ripped open pipes, scrounging for aluminum and other valuable metals. Some have set fires to bum insulation from wires. And others have stripped electrical transformers, causing 1,600 gallons of oil contaminated with PCBs, or polychlorinated biphen-ylto spill into a creek and river. That prompted a, $5.4 million cleanup by the Environmental Protection Agency. Finally, the city said enough is enough. "We consider it an absolute atrocity out there. We just can't tolerate it any longer," said Jan Dayton's superintendent of the neighborhood de- s, Lepore-Jentleso- n, velopment division. Dayton recently allocated $856,000 to remove remaining asfactobestos from the block-lon- g ry. In October, workers wearing respirators and protective gear began the task. One of the biggest worries is that asbestos ripped loose by scavengers will blow into the surrounding residential area. ' "We've become more and more acutely aware of the danger that it poses for the neighborhood," said. "We felt we had to respond." The building, which was sold in the early 1980s, already has decayed: Parts of the roof have collapsed, the windows are broken, doors are missing. "The only potential for it was to start all over again," she said. Demolition probably will start early next year. It could cost as much as $3.2 million about 10 times Dayton's annual budget for leveling public nuisances, Lepore-Jentlessaid. "This is no small sacrifice to make," she said. "(But) this is considered one of the most significant and serious problems in Dayton. ... It really is a symbol of the on industrial abandonment of our community." After the demolition, the ground will sit idle. "We'll let it go back to nature, let it heal itself. In a decade or so," said, "maybe n Lepore-Jentleso- development can occur. ' ' When the city of Duquesne, Pa. , lost its big steel mill, the workers were the most visible losers. But they weren't alone. The closing of the Duquesne Works in 1984 shook up local government: The city lost about 45 percent of its real estate tax base, $900,000 annually from water bills and was forced to trim its work force from 117 to 41, said financial officer David Poljak. "You can compare it to Sherman going through Atlanta in the Civil War. ... The losses were devastating," he said. The effects linger even today. Poljak noted that parking meter revenue, a major source of income from steelworkers around the plant, fell from $64,000 in 1982 to $1,800 last year. Population in this Pittsburgh from suburb dropped, too to 8,525 in the last decade. Once the plant closed, the community was reluctant to accept that fact it was gone forever, Poljak said. "There was a widespread belief ... all somebody had to do was turn on the switch and everything would be back to normal," he 1G,-0- i . - . 1. t i I : , " - I ' .. VI tllVWV MM J VI Prices Effective: Dec. 8th thru Dec. 10th, 1991 VfefWIUIItlllig iSM 80 iiTii said. That attitude slowly changed and, in the last year, some of the massive mill that stretches nearly two miles has been razed. But Poljak said, "They've only scratched the surface as far as leveling down there and starting over. " "I'm 42 years old. I wonder if I'll live to see complete progress there," he said. "If there's a lesson to be learned, it's that it's not a good Reg. or Diet community to be sole- idea for any ly dependent on one employer." Paul Bienvenu wanted to inject new life into an old textile mill in Bennington, Vt. He never expected such a struggle. The plan was for his group, the Southern Vermont Development Council, to buy and remodel the mill, which closed in 1984, and then sell the complex to different companies. It would mean jobs and tax income for the recession-bitte- town. n The federal government and others invested $3 million. But two years after renovations were comd pleted, the old Holden-Leonar- mill has no tenants. The problem? Pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency, called in to inspect the area after a complaint from an worker, found the soil is tainted with polyaromatic hydrocarbons, which are found in coal tar and other materials. Some are carcinogens, but the dangers posed are debatable. While Bienvenu says an engineering firm his group hired has concluded "there is no health ex-m- ill risk," government officials disa- gree. The EPA says it needs to conduct more tests and Dave Shepard, of the state's Agency of Natural Resources, says, "They need to do some level of cleanup before we feel the site is safe." Bienvenu is angry. "I've got a big building, $3 million of public money and nothing going on," he said. "We can't do a hell of a lot until we get everyone to buy into the notion that there's not an environmental problem. ... Nobody wants to go to work on a site suspected of being i I 2 Liter Bottle down AP UserpNjto Balanoff, an Illinois state legislator, points (Hit an abandoned brewery in southeast Chicago where a boy died in a fall several years ago. Efforts to tear down the structure have failed and children continue to play there. Clem Shifting economy leaves hazards in form of iimiii" Jumbo Rol ri A 1 - Chicago community played there themselves as children. Then Ricky Rodriguez died there. The boy fell 15 stories while playing in the brewery's grain silo. With his playmates too scared to say anything, Ricky's body wasn't found for five months. When the circumstances of his death were discovered in September 1990, Ricky's family and neighbors rallied to get the brewery razed. But more than a year later, it still stands, one of thousands of abandoned industrial buildings that haunt the Rust Belt. Within a few months of his body being found, Ricky's family reached an undisclosed settlement with S&P Co, which owns Falstaff, and bowed out of the fight. Chicago officials say the dilapidated enough to warrant demolition a project that could cost between $1.8 million and $3 million. And prospective purchasers have backed away, citing concerns over the potential cost of removing toxins or asbestos from the site. Around the Midwest, cities 14-ac- re m a& 1500 Case of 30 HUNT'S abandoned buildings CHICAGO (AP) Everyone who lived near the old Fal-sta- ff brewery, abandoned in the early 70s, knew kids played there. Adults in the southeast brewery isn't Hi-D- iBiij (0; (0) face the safety problems posed by such buildings. Kids dare each other to climb fences or sneak past security guards. At those without adequate security, homeless people often move in, setting fires that can flare out of control . "It's a big public health problem," said Michael Green-berdirector of the graduate program in public health and a professor of urban studies at g, Rutgers University in New Jersey. "In a lot of places, these abandoned buildings become occupied by drug addicts. They become places where people can conveniently dispose of hazardous waste. They are ' breeding grounds for rodents. ' Officials around the Midwest say there's been no count of abandoned buildings, and no one records the number of accidents and injuries that occur in them. But they agree they are Case of 72 32 Oz. Hunt's Squeeze Case of 12. Soft n' Gentle BATHi common. Chicago's buildings commissioner, Dan Weil, called the problem "the single most pressing issue" in the city. mm TISSUI "If you have an abandoned building on a block, it's like a cancer that spreads," he said. "It becomes a breeding ground for drug and gang activity and just plain dangerous for children, who can get themselves hurt." Pkg. S?? Holiday If T'S FREE UNTIL JUNE 1992. Mitsubishi 329.99 HS VCR ready tuning, four eventfour week display, remote programming, control, one-touc- h auto tracking. P recording and twin digital Major Electronics HS-U3- 4; L'se our Extras plan between December 9 and December 16 in ; ' ' ' : ; ' r 'J- - 1 ''" ' ' "'.... r Major Electronics: $150 minimum purchase and subject to credit 'T O approval. 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