PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Ryane Smith and her family are part of a growing trend: they live in an RV full-time. Right now, they call Sun Retreats Dunedin, a mobile home and RV park off Alternate 19, their temporary home.
“We love it,” Smith said. “The community is great.”
Living just minutes from world-class beaches, they normally have nothing but positive things to say about a blissful lifestyle, but right now, Smith has a big complaint and worry.
“It’s really freaking me out and my family’s life out,” said the mom of two boys, ages three and seven.
More than two dozen mobile homes throughout the park that were substantially damaged by Hurricane Helene’s storm surge are in the process of being demolished.
Recently, Smith learned that some of those homes contain asbestos, a mineral sometimes found in older building materials. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, asbestos can cause serious and sometimes fatal diseases.
“We pride ourselves on family and freedom and being able to live the life that we live, and if anything happened to them or my family, it would be absolutely devastating,” Smith said.
Smith reached out to ABC Action News because demolition debris containing asbestos is being placed in a dumpster just feet from her home in the portion of the resort known as Sandpiper.
“Maybe like 20 or 30 feet,” she said. “It’s just one paved site over.”
The dumpster's exterior has an aged, rusty appearance, with multiple holes visible. A sign on the dumpster warns of the asbestos, which may cause cancer or lung damage. Smith said it’s been there for weeks, but the sign wasn’t fully visible until recently.
Though the dumpster is covered by a large plastic sheet sealed to the rim with duct tape, Smith said it was not fully sealed until recently, and the almost constant sea breeze in the area sometimes causes the plastic sheet to lift from the dumpster’s top.
“That’s what’s freaking me out through all of this,” she said.
According to a spokesperson with Pinellas County, the county’s Air Quality Division is monitoring the ongoing asbestos abatement and demolition of 27 mobile homes in Sun Retreats Dunedin.
“The project has largely been going smoothly and in compliance with the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants and County Code,” the county wrote in a statement to ABC Action News. “Our inspectors followed up with the asbestos contractor after a regularly scheduled March 28 inspection regarding the appearance of the asbestos waste storage container on site, and again on April 15 to address concerns from a resident.”
In a short phone call on Wednesday, a representative from Plant City-based JES Abatement Inc. confirmed that it owns the dumpster.
The representative, who angrily ended the phone before answering further questions or providing his full name, said the dumpster is in compliance. However, he said it will be moved after recent complaints.
A regional vice president for Sun Retreats, who was on-site Wednesday, clarified that the dumpster will be moved to a different spot of the resort early Thursday morning and removed from the property entirely by next week.
Smith, however, is not yet convinced because she said she was previously told by a Pinellas County representative that the dumpster would be moved on Wednesday.
Though she worries she could face repercussions, Smith said she’s voicing her concerns to ensure the safety of her family and others close by.
“I’m using my voice to try to make a difference,” she said.
“You know, I gave him probably the biggest hug I could ever recall giving him, and he held on tight"
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