Dear Steve,

This was the earliest opportunity for me to write.

On the morning of March 28, 2001, I located a significant amount of friable asbestos on land which was supposed to have been rehabilitated, months ago. Furthermore, such work was supposed to have been carried out by Yellow Moon’s team of trained experts and many skilled government inspectors.

It seemed, then, that despite their assurances, none of those people were competent enough to work with this dangerous mineral. I found that stuff while on my first visit, to a large area, at the former Manson site.

Visible surface contamination covered an area that was about 25' x 100' (25' x 60' (revised estimate)). Approximately 200' west, however, pieces of Transite pipe were lying on top and partway out of the ground.

It was similar to the mess created when Intracorp excavated. Also, this contamination was almost in the same place.

Literally, I pulled soft friable asbestos up by the fistful. A lot of it was wrapped around ground vegetation. Unfortunately, upon closer examination, asbestos on top of the ground gave way to more fibers below.

I collected several large samples and photographed the area.

I suspect removal of the material will require numerous dump trucks.

Many blue and other asbestos fibers were clearly visible and exposed to the wind.

This space was located between the Manson fence and CNR tracks.

Ed. note: the image below is not the image in the original letter. The information on the image for this letter can be deduced from the dates on the image. This method allows a single image to be used with all of Mr. Sheehan's letters on this topic thus speeding up the download process for you.

As per usual, there were plenty of houses nearby. So, lots of lives would, again, be in peril.

With all those inspectors and assurances, from governments, Candec, plus Yellow Moon, there was no excuse for this dilemma, Steve.

At minimum, the land should be immediately re-cleaned. Cost of this job ought to be entirely covered by Yellow Moon.

As an instance of work typically carried out across Manson's former site, the hazardous material suggested there was still other significantly contaminated spots, north of the fence. Size and timing of this find, for instance, demonstrated that major errors in judgement had occurred.

Moreover, the discovery called into question everything else that was supposed to have been done for ensuring safety of Port Union residents.

Apparently, much got missed or ignored.

With the dangerous fibers seemingly out of control, I request that a permanent stop-work order be issued, against Yellow Moon. I also ask that this site be transformed into a passive park. That developer should also contribute to a fund which would cover legitimate property damage and personal injury claims.

As many have suspected, Manson's former site seems to be beyond repair.

Please reply.

Sincerely,

William F. Sheehan