NATCHEZ — Removal of two eyesores may wind up costing the city far more than just the cost of demolition — more than $20,000 more.

Building Inspector Jody Rutter said two dilapidated and unsafe structures in Natchez — one on State Street, and the other on North Rankin — have tested positive for asbestos, a type of insulation which when made airborne is linked to mesothelioma, a type of cancer.

Though the process of securing the dangerous material is expensive, Rutter said it must be done.

“Things like this, you find the money and do what you can do,” he said.

The crumbling house on North Rankin has been adjudicated, and the garage apartment on North Rankin now belongs to the city after the state government took possession of it due to the previous owner’s unpaid taxes.

Natchez Mayor Butch Brown said the city only seeks to demolish structures that are unsafe or hurt property values around them.

“The owners are contacted and encouraged to demolish it themselves,” Brown said. “They can do it for half the cost.”

Approximately 10 percent of the demolitions the city performs involve asbestos cleanup, Brown said, which costs the city between $15,000 and $20,000 a year on average.

Specialists are being called in to carefully remove the asbestos in the two buildings currently up for demolition. Rutter said the process should begin in the next few weeks.

Public Works Supervisor Justin Dollar said his department would handle the demolition when the structures have been cleared of asbestos.

Buildings that contain asbestos are generally safe, Rutter said, until the material is broken up into airborne particles that can be inhaled. Those inhalable particles may endanger anyone who lives or works near the site.

“The problem is if the city goes to tear it down, we’re opening ourselves up for a lawsuit,” Rutter said.

In order to avoid danger to neighbors, specialists must clean out structures that were built with asbestos.

Those specialists, Rutter said, do not come cheap.

“It’s a money issue, just like cities all over the U.S.,” Rutter said. “We’re not rolling in the money right now.”

The larger structure on North Rankin Street would cost the city $17,500 to be cleared of asbestos. The garage apartment on State Street would cost $3,200.

Those fees don’t include the cost of the actual demolition.

Rutter said if the structures are not cleared out and demolished, they would eventually collapse by themselves — asbestos and all.

“At least we wouldn’t have made ourselves culpable in the process,” Rutter said. “But I don’t want to see that.”