Denderwindeke (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Following an asbestos fire in Denderwindeke, residents must have their gardens excavated for safety, disrupting summer plans in the Ninove sub-municipality.
Corrugated sheets containing asbestos were used to cover the burned-out shed, but the heat caused them to explode. The dangerous substance thus found its way onto a space bigger than a football field.
On the Edingsesteenweg close to the Kruisveldstraat, Belgium, the fire started on May 24. A hangar caught fire. When the fire department first came on the scene, they saw that the hangar was covered with corrugated sheets that contained asbestos.
Meanwhile, a business was hired by the Ninove municipal council to remove the asbestos.
“We received the report from the asbestos expert and brought the residents together for an information meeting at the city hall. The report shows that 6,400 m² needs to be cleaned up. We appointed a certified asbestos cleaner, which means that we as a city will monitor the cleanup work,”
says acting mayor Ilse Malfroot (Forza Ninove).
For the residents of the fire, these were very difficult days.
“We are now 12 days further. It was only after four days that I received the message that asbestos particles were found in the upper rooms of my house. In the meantime, I had already vacuumed the entire house. Since then, only my ground floor has been suitable for living,”
says Chris Van den Broeck, who lives in the house adjacent to the burned-down shed.
“I briefly started to extinguish the fire with my garden hose. But when I realized that there was asbestos involved, I quickly left. The fire was enormous. Almost everything in my garden melted. The entire garden is covered with large pieces of asbestos, all pieces of those corrugated iron sheets that burst due to the enormous heat. You can’t even see the floor anymore,”
he says.
Several gardens will be excavated to a depth of 15 centimetres. The asbestos removal company is expected to start this week.
“We have a beautiful garden, but it is now full of asbestos and we have not been allowed in for 12 days,”
says local resident Ilse Bellemans.
“We do not yet know how long the removal will take. But this summer we will have to do without a garden in any case.”
The city has another piece of advice for those who live outside the zone to be cleaned up, but still find remains of the fire.
“If you live nearby and find burnt debris outside the zone that will be cleaned up, you can collect it yourself and take it to the recycling center. Do this carefully: wet the material, pick it up with disposable gloves, put it in a sealed, airtight bag and take it to the recycling center,”
it says.
What safety measures are being taken for residents during asbestos removal in Denderwindeke?
To limit access and stop asbestos fibers from migrating outside the property, the contaminated garden areas are physically blocked off with barriers, plastic sheeting, and signage.
To prevent asbestos fiber inhalation, workers wear comprehensive protective gear, such as disposable coveralls, gloves, eye protection, and HEPA-filter respirators.
Materials containing asbestos and contaminated soil are handled carefully to prevent breakage and fiber release, and they are wetted before removal to reduce airborne fibers.
PPE can be safely removed and disposed of in designated clean and dirty zones, and equipment is cleaned to avoid cross-contamination.
In order to prevent asbestos fibers from contaminating the surrounding environment during removal, continuous air monitoring is done utilizing HEPA vacuum systems and fiber detection.
