Old Courthouse Passes Asbestos Tests, Will Reopen Today

The old San Fernando Courthouse, closed for two days by fears of airborne asbestos, was scheduled to reopen today after tests revealed that the amount of the cancer-causing fiber in the courthouse air is within legal limits.

However, the California Occupational Safety and Health Agency still is investigating the asbestos removal work at the courthouse to determine whether workers followed legally dictated procedures for removing the deadly fibers two months ago.

Cal-OSHA spokesman Rick Rice said state investigators will interview asbestos removal workers to determine if courthouse employees and construction workers were exposed to harmful levels of free-floating asbestos when the material was removed.

County officials said more than 1,000 square feet of ceiling plaster containing asbestos and about 50 feet of asbestos insulation for hot water pipes were removed in April, May and June as part of a courtroom expansion and remodeling project still under way. The Times revealed Thursday that the county apparently violated the federal Clean Air Act by failing to notify the South Coast Air Quality Management District of the asbestos work.

Closed Friday

Supervising Judge Gregg Marcus of the Los Angeles Municipal Court closed the old courthouse Friday afternoon, ordering that proceedings be held in the new courthouse and other buildings, after Cal-OSHA officials announced an investigation in response to a complaint from a prosecutor who feared that the building was unsafe.

The building remained closed Monday while the tests were processed. Court administrator Fritz Ohlrich said the building would be open for normal use today.

Asbestos, once commonly used as an insulator and building material, can lodge in the lungs, causing lung cancer, if inhaled. Most contractors now remove asbestos uncovered by remodeling work. However, they must follow stringent procedures and meet strict guidelines to prevent fibers from becoming airborne.

Deputy City Atty. Allan A. Nadir said he contacted Cal-OSHA after reading news reports of apparent Clean Air law violations during the asbestos removal work. He was already worried, he said, because early last week a county worker warned another city attorney to stay away from a certain area of the building because of exposed asbestos.

City attorneys, he said, were never told that asbestos was removed from the building. Court proceedings continued there throughout the remodeling work despite large fans blowing thick white dust throughout the building, Nadir said. He also said attorneys never saw asbestos removal workers, who wear conspicuous head-to-toe protective gear, on the site.

Odd Hours

Project supervisor Thomas Brown said that although the AQMD was not notified, the county obeyed all other federal and state rules governing asbestos work. Attorneys and judges probably never saw asbestos workers because the actual work was carried out at 4 a.m., on weekends and at other off hours, so as not to alarm the public, Brown said.

County officials said they did notify Cal-OSHA about the project, also required by state law.

However, Cal-OSHA officials have refused to confirm that. Rice said Monday that if county officials did not notify Cal-OSHA, they can be cited and that he cannot comment on pending citations.

Air samples taken Friday afternoon by Cal-OSHA investigators showed that it was safe to resume working in the building, Rice said, but he refused to comment on the test results or whether the asbestos levels were close to the maximum allowable.

He said the Cal-OSHA investigation probably will be completed this week. If the interviews reveal that the county did not remove the fibers properly, the county could lose the right to conduct asbestos work and would have to hire outside contractors.

Meanwhile, officials of the air district said they were continuing their independent investigation.