Customers who store their items in two storage sheds at the decommissioned K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base in Marquette County, Michigan may not be able to retrieve their items for quite some time now that asbestos has been discovered at the two 40,000-square-foot facilities.

An article in The Mining Journal reports that the two sheds, owned by the Sault Saint-Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, were found to contain loose, damaged asbestos. The discovery was made about two weeks ago. Now, professional asbestos consultants will need to be called in to access the extent of the problem, the article adds.

“The tribe is doing everything it can to expedite this and make sure everyone is safe,” said Saulius Mikalonis, a Plunkett Cooney attorney representing the tribe from Bloomfield Hills.

Mikalonis confirmed that the tribe had been leasing the two sheds to Second Street Storage since 2010 but recently had to repossess the buildings when the temporary storage company fell severely behind on its rental payments. Last month, when they cut off locks and pushed open doors to inspect the premises, they found asbestos-containing pipe fitting tape on the floor. The tribe is now assuming that there is an asbestos problem in both sheds, though testing was only done on one of the buildings.

In the meantime, they are keeping the proper authorities apprised of the situation, including the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the Michigan Occupational Health and Safety Administration.

Unfortunately, it could be quite some time before customers have access to the items inside the two sheds, which include boats and recreational vehicles stored their during the winter months. It’s a disappointing situation for those who were awaiting the start of summer and the chance to use their boats and RVs.

“If the amount of disturbed asbestos present is significant or widespread, a specific sequence of steps to wet and dispose of the materials would be required,” the article points out. At this point, no one has the answer.

“It is a complicated, time consuming, and expensive process,” Mikalonis confirmed, stressing that the tribe is determined to do the right thing lest they be hit with expensive fines for violations of asbestos laws, which are designed to help prevent asbestos exposure, which can cause cancers such as mesothelioma as well as other respiratory diseases. Asbestos is often found on U.S. military bases and was long used in naval shipyards as well.

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