With asbestos abatement work at the Abitibi-Consolidated mill here now 90 per cent complete and demolition now underway, there will be a big change on the property in the next month or so.

Mel Dean, site manager of the Abitibi-Consolidated property here, said most of the siding that is coming off the main building has been removed and Delsan-AIM, the main contractor for the demolition, has arrived on site.

The company started work on Wednesday with the demolition of what was known as the old D.O.T. (Department of Transportation) garage on the site. After the closure of the Ernest Harmon Air Force Base, this building was used by the provincial Department of Transportation for a garage and in the 1970s was purchased by the mill for use as a garage and housed shipping offices as well.

Dean said once that building is down, the next structure to come down will be the wood room which is detached from the main mill building and located near where the wood used to be stockpiled.

The machines will then start on the main building and work their way through it, leaving several sections - including the administrative portion and a mechanical building that has been handed over to the Town of Stephenville. The demolition of the main building is expected to take three to four weeks.

"At first, the changes will not be as apparent from outside, however, in the next month or so people will see a lot of changes at the site as things will be very visible then," he said.

Asbestos removal is expected to be completed by Sept. 14. Dean said they peaked a little while back with 50 workers on the site, however, they have tapered back to about 30 workers on the site now.

He said all the asbestos is being handled in an approved landfill while some of the metals will be trucked out and other types taken by ship. The remaining debris will be taken to an approved section of the town landfill site.

By the end of the year there will be quite a change at the site, however, according to Dean, it will probably go into winter before the demolition is complete. He said site remediation will start in the spring of 2008 and continue throughout the summer months. He said environmental testing and analysis is taking place on an ongoing basis.

With the amount of siding that has already been taken off the building, there is already a big change as motorists coming down Indian Head can virtually see right through the building now and the water in the harbour beyond.

Dean said Abitibi-Consolidated is pleased to have worked with the Stephenville Town Council and the Community Development Committee of the Bay St. George Task Force to come up with buildings and other infrastructure that industry has expressed interest in for future use.