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Internal Audit Says EPA Mismanaged Fort Worth Project

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - An internal audit by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reveals the agency mismanaged an experiment using new ways to demolish asbestos-ridden buildings.

In a report published Thursday the Office of the Inspector General said more than a decade of EPA trials in Fort Worth wetting buildings prior to demolition to reduce the release of asbestos "failed to provide reliable data and results" and posed "potential public health risks."

The report says EPA was shielded from compliance with the federal Clean Air Act during the experiments.

After spending more than $3.5 million on the research, EPA canceled the project in 2011, saying the alternative method "remains unapproved and should not be used."

EPA has 60 days to respond to the report.

(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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