Work began this week to remove asbestos from material at the Farmland Industries ammonia plant in east Lawrence.

According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, approximately 16,600 linear feet of material containing asbestos will be removed from pipe surfaces and 8,500 square feet of material containing asbestos will be removed from tanks, vessels and exchangers that were used in the ammonia production process.

Work at the plant began Monday and should finish on Oct. 31, said Sharon Watson, a spokeswoman for the department.

A Wichita-based company, Asbestos Removal and Maintenance Inc., will be performing the abatement work.

Watson said KDHE was overseeing the project because it was a beneficiary of the $7 million remediation trust that was set up at the time of the Farmland bankruptcy. That trust is paying for the work. Watson said she was unsure of the total cost of the abatement project.

The asbestos removal is in a section of the plant that is far off of Kansas Highway 10, Watson said, so passersby will probably not notice the work.

People entering the regulated work area will be required to wear protective clothing and respirators. A remote decontamination facility will be set up on the site for individuals leaving the regulated work area.

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