ST. LOUIS — They were digging through rubble bagging and collecting what appeared to be pieces of roofing.
Heath Smith, EPA Site Coordinator is leading the team working the fire investigation. His team spent the morning scouring the surrounding blocks, bagging materials.
"The team is out looking for material that came off the building that could be a representative of a material that could have asbestos in it," Smith said.
"So, you know a lot of times, they're looking for construction material that may be fiber-like in nature, maybe roofing material," he said.
Right now there is no threat to the public because the debris isn't airborne because the smoke is no longer coming from the scene.
About 30 samples will be sent to a lab in St. Louis to for testing.
"We label the samples and collect GPS coordinates for where we took the sample. That way we know whenever to get the analysis back", according to Smith.
If they do find asbestos, there are too many factors right now to determine how long the cleanup could take or cost, "Depends on the quantity and the area, and what it is we find" Smith said.
