News Coverage
Old ore factory draws attention from legislator
Published March 6, 2005
State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer wants state environmental regulators to investigate a site near downtown San Antonio that handled tons of asbestos-contaminated ore.
The request was made by letter Feb. 24, shortly after a San Antonio Express-News report publicized the link between the defunct factory at 354 Blue Star St. and the recently indicted W.R. Grace Co.
"I don't think people understand how huge this is, and he didn't want it to just get swept under the rug," said Anna Lisa Garcia, general counsel to the San Antonio Democrat.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality hasn't determined yet how to deal with the request or the site.
"At this point, our first step has been to notify the local and state health departments, and we will try to coordinate with them and other agencies to gather information and firm up plans," said TCEQ spokeswoman Adria Dawidczik.
The sites is on the banks of the San Antonio River in a run-down industrial area near the King William district. It processed nearly 104,000 tons of contaminated vermiculite from a mine in Libby, Mont., during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, according to recently released federal documents gathered by the Washington-based Environmental Working Group.
Environmental Protection Agency spokesman David Bary said the federal agency tried to conduct a visual inspection of the site in 2000 to determine if there was evidence of asbestos contamination, but was denied access by then-owner Richard Galloway of the Big Tex Grain Co.
Galloway, who could not be reached for comment for this story, later sold the building to the Lifshutz Cos., which plans to eventually redevelop the area.