Industries at the Celanese Industrial Park complex have been asked to shut any doors or warehouse bays while the federal Environmental Protection Agency tries to determine the extent of an asbestos problem associated with demolition of the heart of the old Celanese plant.

The Celanese plant is a closed Rayon plant.

On-Scene Coordinator Rick Jardine with the EPA Emer-gency Response & Removal Branch said that contactors are trying to stabilize asbestos that was not been properly contained during the demolition process.

“Actually we are considering it potentially an imminent threat,” Jardine said. “Imminent does not mean immediate. It means sooner or later a threat such as this could cause ad-verse health effects.”

Jardine said he was not aware how officials became aware of the situation, but said samples taken from the site recently confirmed asbestos containing materials.

“There are some piles of debris and rubble. Within that rubble there is some potentially asbestos containing material,” Jardine said. The material is going to be containerized and sealed while the EPA seeks a landfill to accept the waste.