A historic building located in Temple, Texas may soon fall. The building deemed as a gem to some and an eyesore to others is contaminated with hazardous asbestos material.

The former Hawn Hotel has been vacant for several years, and continues to decay. The building has been closed for such a long time, that Temple residents are unaware of what the building is. “I think it had a sign at one point that maybe said hotel, but how can you tell?" noted resident Sherry Sheppard.

Sheppard added: "I don’t know if I can rightly say anything in particular, anything besides a waste of space.” The building began falling apart in the 70s, and has been closed since then.

The Temple City Council hopes to adopt resolutions to award contracts for asbestos abatement, reports KXXV. Before the building is redeveloped, the hazardous asbestos material must first be removed.

Asbestos is highly toxic material, found in many older buildings. When disturbed, the particles become airborne, and are easily inhaled. Once inhaled, the particles lodge themselves in the lungs, and cause diseases such as lung cancer and mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is the most aggressive asbestos-related disease.

Due to a latency period of 10 to 50 years, even the best mesothelioma doctorsstruggle to diagnose patients in the early stages of their disease. Because of this, treatment tends to arrive late.

The city purchased the building in 2006 for $340,155. They plan to sell it to a developer.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 11th, 2010 at 6:15 am and is filed under news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.