Northampton County Dealing With Gracedale Asbestos

Members of Northampton County's employee safety committee are asking the county to deal with asbestos in the basement of the .

On Thursday night, one of those workers, Ted Harris, told county council he thinks the county isn't taking employee concerns seriously.

"We are experiencing people who, instead of hearing of what we have to say, are listening for what they want to hear," Harris told the Express-Times.

But County Executive John Stoffa says the county isn't ignoring the issue.

"Believe me, we've taken this issue so seriously," he said, noting that the county has already spent $800,000 on asbestos clean-up at the nursing home.

According to the Express-Times, the clean-up -- involving workshops and storage areas -- could take the next four weeks.

Stoffa also said he thinks the asbestos discussion is driving people away from Gracedale.

"Every time we talk about asbestos, that population goes down," he told council. "We have people treating this like it's nerve gas."

The issues aren't isolated just to Gracedale; Stoffa said is also dealing with a similar situation at its law library, which has forced officials to throw out all of the library's books.