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After renovation work turned up some asbestos material in the floor, a Southeast Portland Trader Joe’s closed to employees and customers Wednesday evening, according to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
The agency says the store will remain shuttered until decontamination work is complete, and there is not yet a timeline for its reopening. Health officials say the public health risk is low due to the short exposure time and low concentration of asbestos—a fiber once common in construction materials that can damage the lungs when inhaled over extended periods as dust.
The Trader Joe’s in question is at 4715 SE César E. Chávez Blvd.
According to DEQ, the store has since Feb. 15 been undergoing a renovation project, which included flooring work. Officials say an earlier asbestos survey by the store’s contractor did not turn up asbestos, but the survey did not examine all flooring materials.
The work proceeded. At some point, however, state officials say they received a complaint about black dust in the store, and received photos showing exposed flooring with black mastic material—an old adhesive that can contain asbestos in a concentration that, while relatively low, requires abatement.
DEQ says it asked Trader Joe’s to test the material for asbestos, and the results came back positive.
The agency says it promptly asked Trader Joe’s to close the store, and the grocery chain is hiring a contractor to decontaminate the premises. The store closed to employees and customers around 5 pm Wednesday, officials say.
“After the decontamination is complete, DEQ will evaluate air monitoring and sampling before the store reopens,” the agency says.
DEQ spokesman Michael Loch said there is not yet an estimated timeline for the closure. A media contact for Trader Joe’s did not immediately respond to questions.
The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division has opened an investigation of the site to evaluate potential worker exposures, but health officials say they believe the asbestos risk to Trader Joe’s employees and shoppers is low.
“We want to reassure the community that if they recently shopped in the store, there is not a significant health threat; short-term asbestos exposure carries an incredibly low health risk,” Andrea Hamberg, Multnomah County’s environmental health services director, said in a written statement.
