Asbestos In Davidson

Plans to redevelop a former cotton and asbestos mill in downtown Davidson are inching forward after the project hit two key milestones.

A company that wants to redevelop an old mill in downtown Davidson has reached a tentative agreement with North Carolina environmental officials on how to permanently cover asbestos buried on the site.

A Charlotte company wants to redevelop the 130-year-old Linden Cotton Mill in downtown Davidson as offices, shops and maybe a brewery or restaurant. But the factory also once made asbestos products, and the five-acre site is contaminated. In Part 3 of WFAE's series Asbestos Town, environmental reporter David Boraks looks at the status of the redevelopment and concern in the historically African American neighborhood around it.

Here's a familiar story in the Charlotte region: An old brick textile mill is turned into something hip — a brewery, apartments or a food hall. It happens all the time, but attempts to redevelop a 130-year-old cotton mill in downtown Davidson have failed. The problem is cancer-causing asbestos. In Part 1 of our series Asbestos Town, environmental reporter David Boraks examines how asbestos became such a problem there.

Still have questions about asbestos in Davidson? Or about asbestos in general? Here's a map of the latest testing and cleanup efforts as wells as links to documents and other resources.

In this hourlong special, we'll hear stories about cancer-causing asbestos left behind after the closing of the Carolina Asbestos Co. in downtown Davidson, North Carolina.

The EPA will be back in Davidson next week to start another round of asbestos cleanups, including a town park. Meanwhile, work is wrapping up on removing asbestos-laden soil found during construction of a water main upgrade in the neighborhood.

Idyllic Davidson has found danger lurking under the soil: Asbestos. Two thousand tons of it. This health hazard also comes with distrust among those who have lost loved ones to asbestos-related diseases.

A Charlotte company wants to redevelop the 130-year-old Linden Cotton Mill in downtown Davidson as offices, shops and maybe a brewery or restaurant. But the factory also once made asbestos products, and the five-acre site is contaminated. In Part 3 of WFAE's series Asbestos Town, environmental reporter David Boraks looks at the status of the redevelopment and concern in the historically African American neighborhood around it.