In Sebring, Florida, the Department of Environmental Protection’s investigation into alleged illegal asbestos dumping at the Sebring Parkway Project has concluded. The DEP has found that the asbestos pipes that were removed during the work on the parkway were within legal asbestos limits. Asbestos pipes are not uncommon in the United States, particularly those used for municipal purposes.

The asbestos pipes, used to transport water, are subject to stringent regulations, as exposure to asbestos can cause serious health problems like lung cancer, scarring of the lungs, and mesothelioma, a rare but aggressive cancer. Mesothelioma can take decades to develop, but can kill within months of being detected by a physician, despite the use of treatments like chemotherapy.

In the case of the Sebring Parkway Project, 229.9 feet of asbestos pipes were removed, which is below the legal limit of 260 feet. "As of November 18, 2009 the Department has not discovered any violations of the aforementioned regulations," a DEP report on the matter revealed.

Over the course of the past two months, over 85 samples were taken from the area to test for asbestos levels. "The results are just what we expected; there were no surprises," County Administrator Michael Wright said. Wright went on to add that several of the asbestos fragments collected during the investigation ended up not being associated with the Sebring Parkway Project, but were from other sources, such as roof shingles.

While asbestos pipe fragments were found on the scene, they were of the wrong size to be associated with the parkway project. The project involved pipes 8 inches and 12 inches in diameter, but the samples collected were from asbestos pipes measuring 24 inches in diameter.