West Virginia VA Hospital Cited for Asbestos

State regulators have cited the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Martinsburg for improperly disposing of materials containing asbestos.

The Department of Environmental Protection recently issued a notice of violation to the hospital. Department spokeswoman Kelley Gillenwater tells media outlets that the agency is evaluating whether additional enforcement action is needed.

Media outlets report that asbestos was discovered in soil last month by a general contractor during the demolition of a concrete slab for the hospital’s boiler plant. Two truckloads of waste and soil had been removed earlier from the site and taken to the Greg Shiley Farm in Inwood, where the debris was buried.

Hospital spokesman Michael J. McAleer says a testing plan to determine what mitigation might be necessary has been submitted to the DEP.