Construction site waste from a Hanover High School building project dumped at the former Meadowbrook Nursery site at routes 14 and 27 does not contain asbestos and is being removed, state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) officials say.

But local officials intend to stay on top of the removal project to make sure the pile doesn’t become a permanent fixture.

Representatives of the health boards from Hanson and East Bridgewater met with Mass.DEP solid waste officials Dan Connick and Colleen Ferguson Friday to look over the pile of concrete chunks and soil mounded near the road at the site. Hanson Town Administrator René Read and Building Inspector Robert Curran also attended the site visit.

They did not enter the property without permission of the owners.

“If we do go over and take  a sample and find it then we can’t take any enforcement action because we don’t have permission,” Connick said. “The thing to do is to contact the owner to find out where he’s taking the stuff.”

But Ferguson said from her vantage point on the outside of the fence, the asbestos did not appear to be present.

“I haven’t seen the whole pile,” Ferguson said. “But it [the asbestos material] is black and sort of stands out. I’m hoping it was taken care of correctly and it’s looking like it’s not this material.”

Health Agent Vincent Flaherty had been told by the contractor that  the waste materials came from the Hanover High School site and Ferguson had indicated there was an asbestos issue at the Hanover project.

Selectman Donald Howard, a former plumber who worked on the Hanover High School construction, has told the Hanson Board of Health that “extensive use” of asbestos was involved in the building. Ferguson said the plumbing-related asbestos was abated during the tear-down process and a full survey of the building showed no asbestos in the concrete mix as a stabilizer.” With all the action they took at the school, it looks like they were doing a good job once they knew what was going on,” Connick said.

Board of Health member Terence McSweeney said the potential for asbestos being in the mix of debris from Hanover was the core of Hanson’s concern. East Bridgewater Health Agent Robert Philbrick was invited to attend the site visit because town lines are unclear on the property.

 “We’ve had some concerns because this pile is kind of waxing and waning,” said McSweeney. “At the very least, this is a violation of the solid waste regulations.”

The town issued a cease and desist and removal order on Feb. 2 by certified letter and the DEP will advise the owner and contractor  that the DEP needs to be advised about where the debris is being taken once it leaves the Meadowbrook Nursery site, although documentation was sought by Hanson officials as to where the debris is being shipped.

“If they are sending this material to another place, then they crush it all up now,” Connick said. In such a case, the crushed material is usually subject to a thorough inspection.

“We’re going to follow this load of material and see what that tells us,” Connick said.

Confirmatory testing for asbestos is not recommended by the MassDEP unless there is reason to believe it is there as load inspections at receiving facilities show if there is asbestos present.

Approved demolition debris of this sort can be used as clean fill, Ferguson said.