PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – A Trader Joe’s location in Southeast Portland closed on Wednesday evening after a reported asbestos exposure issue.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality says they along with other agencies responded to a report of asbestos exposure at the Trader Joe’s on 4715 SE Cesar E. Chavez Blvd.
The store was closed to employees and customers at around 5 p.m., and will remain closed until the asbestos is fully decontaminated.
The sudden closure came as a shock to some customers.
“I was driving by and the parking lot was practically empty. I was like, ‘That’s weird,’ you know, I have to stop, like this is great, I need groceries,” said Shianne Cross.
“The store is well laid out. It’s stocked well. I think the food quality is really good, I hardly ever found anything that wasn’t,” said Mike Burgess.
State and county health officials believe the risk of public harm is low due to the short exposure time, according to the DEQ.
“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,” said Multnomah County Environmental Health Services Director Andrea Hamberg. “Our goal is to protect the long-term health of our community. We have consulted with Oregon Health Authority’s toxicologists and are working with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to ensure the building is fully decontaminated before it reopens.”
Michael Loch, a spokesperson for the Oregon DEQ, said a public complaint about black dust is what alerted officials.
“Immediately, we asked Trader Joe’s and the contractor to perform that testing on that material. And it was yesterday afternoon when we received positive results,” said Loch.
The DEQ said the store had been undergoing a renovation project since Feb. 15, 2026, including work on the store’s flooring. An asbestos survey was done before renovation began but the samples did not include all flooring mastic materials – an older adhesive that was commonly used to glue floor tiles, so the initial samples came back negative.
“I’m not surprised that as they get down to the concrete that they might find asbestos because the building is probably quite a bit older,” said Burgess.
After black dust was reported in the store, the DEQ asked the store to test the mastic material and tests came back positive.
DEQ said Trader Joe’s is hiring a contractor to decontaminate the store. Once compete, samples will be taken again.
If you shopped at the store between Feb. 15 and when it closed on March 4 and have concerns, you can take the following steps:
- Wash produce thoroughly before eating.
- For packaged foods, wipe the packaging before opening, and transfer food to a container. Throw away wipes and packaging.
- Clean surfaces that may have accumulated dust from the store using wet wipes or a HEPA-filtered vacuum. Throw away used wet wipes.
- Wash clothes worn at the store.
Officials say Trader Joe’s is now required to work with a state-certified specialist to make sure the space is safe before opening again.
FOX 12 did reach out to Trader Joe’s but have not heard back.
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