Asbestos

On the way to my local Simon Mall, I saw several groups of men standing near the road outside protesting.  I wasn’t sure what they might be gathering for so I slowed down, parked and walked back to see.  I talked with the guys for several minutes and found out that 1) they are local asbestos removal union workers, and 2) There is asbestos in the Southdale Simon Mall, 3) the local workers were not hired to remove the asbestos in favor of an out of state company from Indiana

The workers were upset about not getting the asbestos removal job to an out of state company.  According to the lead union representative, the out of state company is cheaper than the local company, but is also from the same town as the contractor involved in the bid.  Southdale mall has had some stiff competition from Galleria Edina, another high end mall just down the street, and has had some issues with remaining relevant.

JCPenney was the latest store to depart the mall, closing last month, with a new Lifetime Fitness set to take it’s place.  The area that housed JCPenney was an add on to the original mall, and is where the asbestos is located.  When I parked and got out of my card, there was a sealed off area outside JCPenney with a worker looking inside a chiseled out area near the roof.  It was windy, and it didn’t exactly seem like if there was asbestos there that it was being securely detained.  I know people that have died from asbestos poisoning and it wasn’t a pleasant death.  Asbestos isn’t something that I take lightly.  I asked an employee at Simon to comment on the situation and all I got was “we have no comment on the situation”.  Not a word on when the asbestos was discovered, or how long it would take to be cleared out.

I know that asbestos removal is heavily regulated and that the workers will be professional, but the situation gives me the hives.  I won’t be a visitor to Southdale until the asbestos is fully removed, and I know the coast is completely clear.