Tacoma’s Luzon Building Demolished
The historic Luzon Building in downtown Tacoma, Washington was demolished on Saturday. The 119-year-old structure was one of only two buildings remaining on the west coast that were designed by renowned Chicago architects Daniel Burnham and John Root. The six-story building’s internal metal structure represented the precursor to contemporary skyscraper construction methods. Over the years, the Luzon had been home to a bank, a Chinese restaurant, a Fun Circus arcade and other businesses.
Vacant since the 1980s, the Luzon was contaminated with asbestos. An inspector for the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency reported that a survey had identified the dangerous substance in the sand surface texturing on four floors of the building, as well as on the roof and in a pipe fitting on the third floor. The contractor performing the demolition claimed that the asbestos could not be removed prior to demolition because of the Luzon’s unstable condition. The asbestos debris from the building was to be sealed and sent for landfill disposal in Graham, Washington.
The demolition crew reported more dust than they had anticipated because the brick and mortar were so soft from years of deterioration. Water was used during the process to wet down and control the dust. Asbestos monitors were used and air sample test results were expected to be available soon.
Special care must be taken when old asbestos products are dislodged during the remodeling or demolition of a building. When asbestos is disturbed, its needle-like fibers are released into the air and may be inhaled by those nearby. If the fibers become lodged in the lungs, they may cause asbestos related diseases to develop, including mesothelioma, a cancer that is virtually always linked to asbestos exposure and for which no cure is known.
For the full story, go to http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/895044.html and http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/892542.html.
