Grand Junction Residents Concerned About Asbestos

Grand Junction, Colo., residents are concerned about asbestos contamination after a home exploded last year, forcing dozens of people to evacuate.

According to KREX-TV, Colorado Mesa University later bought the property and hired a company to clean up the site. An environmental company submitted a remediation plan to the state, but it was denied. A new plan is pending.

Three people were injured in the explosion last March, prompting evacuations of nearby schools and homes.

Mesa County sheriff’s officials say firefighters had been working with Xcel Energy at the site of a suspected natural gas leak when crews spotted a fire at a home that then exploded due to the gas inside. The fire spread to another home next door. The source of the asbestos was not identified.