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Streetcars To Shed Asbestos

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By RICH SHOPES rshopes@tampatrib.com

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 12, 2008

TAMPA - Hillsborough County's transit agency is going to spend thousands of dollars to remove asbestos from its electric streetcars.

After maintenance workers learned some of the cars' electrical components contain cancer-causing asbestos, transit officials ordered the parts swapped out for new ones.

The parts pose no health hazard if left alone, but, "asbestos is such a loaded word," said Ed Crawford, spokesman for Hillsborough Area Regional Transit.

Crawford didn't have a cost estimate but said it's likely to be thousands of dollars.

HART rejected an estimated $310,000 plan to move the streetcars to a sealed location offsite to install new parts. The agency decided the work could be handled in-house for substantially less, but the project could prove costly nonetheless because special precautions must be taken when handling the material.

The asbestos is contained inside ceramic insulating devices made in the 1930s. They were installed underneath the passenger cabin and inside the cabin in the controller boxes used by motormen to adjust the streetcar's speed.

Crawford said environmental tests found no problems with the devices and minimal risk that they would ever cause problems. No employees have come forward with ailments.

Most of the streetcars' components are modern, but there are exceptions for hard-to-find pieces. "It's an industry-wide problem when you're using older parts," Crawford said.

The asbestos-containing parts will be switched out starting in a couple months when the new parts come in, said Crawford.

The 2.4-mile, downtown-to-Ybor City system celebrated its sixth anniversary Saturday.

Reporter Rich Shopes can be reached at (813) 259-7633.

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