WILTON — Work on the Forster Manufacturing mill, asbestos abatement inside and demolition outside, is scheduled to restart within the next 30 days at the site on Depot Street.

Demolition work stopped in July when testing showed high levels of asbestos.

Abatement Professionals Corp. of Westbrook was hired by building owner Adam Mack and Ryan Byther of Down East Construction in late August after the federal Environmental Protection Agency was prepared to come in and do the cleanup, said Abatement Professionals owner Robert Rickett.

Before starting, Abatement Professionals sampled the air in the building and found nothing, Rickett said.

An asbestos survey, also done by the company, revealed 8,000 linear feet of asbestos-containing pipe and pipe covering, 1,000 square feet of asbestos-containing boiler coverings and 4,000 square feet of asbestos-containing floor tile in the building.

It’s all sealed within the building. It is safe outside the gated area, he said.

Enough to fill a small trash bag was found around building materials stored in a parking lot across the street, Rickett said.

After the outside work was completed, abatement stopped, but more financing has been secured to restart the work, Byther said.

The cost of the cleanup is in the range of $150,000, Rickett said. He expects two weeks of work will finish the abatement, which he wants done before winter because the process involves a lot of water.

Byther will restart demolition work on a metal building and the already cleaned outside area for recyclables to help fund the inside work.

While the Maine Department of Environmental Protection said it is pleased that the site owner has stepped up and the project is progressing in a positive direction, the department has issued notices of violation to Byther and Wilton Recycling, the company owned by Mack who is recycling the building materials.

The violations include engaging in an asbestos activity without being licensed or certified (Byther) or retaining a company that does (Wilton Recycling), failing to notify the department in writing of intention to engage in an asbestos abatement activity and failing to comply by conducting a building demolition inspection prior to engaging in asbestos abatement activity.

An inspection in July revealed asbestos-containing insulation from piping, about 500 linear feet, which was removed by Down East Construction employees. The company is not a Maine-licensed asbestos abatement contractor.

According to the violation notice, removal was done without containment, ventilation or a decontamination facility; the material was not wet and was not contained after removal. Employees told the department they were not provided with and did not wear protective equipment during the removal and did not go into a decontamination facility before leaving the site.

Corrective actions requested by the department, including securing the building, an asbestos inspection and cleanup are in the works, but the department intends to work closely with the site owner and the asbestos abatement contractor, DEP spokeswoman Samantha DePoy-Warren said.

The department, along with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division, is continuing to review the case to see if further enforcement action needs to be taken.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration could not comment on its ongoing investigation, said John Bucci, an asbestos and lead inspector for the DEP.

DEP requirements, including an asbestos inspection/survey and an asbestos building demolition notification before demolition starts, were not submitted to the department. Several reminders were given to the owner of the property and Byther by the DEP and Wilton’s code enforcement officer, DePoy-Warren said.

The appropriate forms were submitted to the DEP in late August after OSHA, DEP and EPA became involved.

“The good thing is that the community was never at risk,” DePoy-Warren said. “The asbestos was in materials and didn’t seem to be airborne.”

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