Asbestos has added $130,000 to the cost of demolishing the Western Grocer Building. The county anticipates the removal will be completed in about three weeks, causing no delay in the demolition project.

The county will contract with Asbestol, Inc. in Austin. The asbestos removal will divided into three phases: Main building, Loading Dock Building and South East Annex. The cost for each segment is below $50,000, and public bidding is not necessary because the contracts are separated. Bidding is required for projects of $50,000 or more.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency waived a 10-day waiting period after the county submitted an application for removing asbestos, recognizing the urgency of preventing the asbestos from spreading into the environment.

County Administrator Ron Gabrielsen said the demolition could begin in the annex, in which no friable asbestos was detected, while Asbestol works on the main building.

The asbestos removal has already begun. Workers in a protective gear with respirators entered the building Tuesday to inspect the state of the asbestos in the roofing materials and on the ground.

Regulations require the removal to be conducted in a way that prevents dusts from being scattered into open air. Asbestos-containing material needs to be moist and carried in a sealed bag.

All the removed asbestos will be treated as toxic waste and transported to a special dumping site in Iowa. The disposal costs $60 per square yard &045; compared to only $4 for normal waste, according to Gabrielsen.

The county has been looking for external funding that would offset the expense of the asbestos removal, but has found none so far, Gabrielsen said.