Courthouse Closed Due to Asbestos

September 19, 2006 - Inspectors have surmised that vibrations from a ventilation system caused large chunks of asbestos insulation to fall to the floors of the Salinas, California courthouse.  The Monterey Herald newspaper reports that chunks of fallen 40-year-old fireproofing have turned up in various parts of the building, prompting the county's asbestos consultant to conduct an investigation that led to the closure of the north wing last week.

Upon further inspection, an environmental consultant found yet more problems and decided to close the entire courthouse for a total abatement of the hazardous material. 

Don Diel, president of C&W Environmental Consulting Inc., stressed to courthouse officials and workers that the findings constituted relatively small amounts of the material and that ongoing air monitoring was in effect. 

Some areas were already scheduled to be abated as part of a renovation project that’s been in progress at the courthouse for the last several months, but Diel says because of “the sensitivity of the issue”, he has suggested that the areas left untouched in the original plan be included in the process.

"We could make (the areas) safe by cleaning above the ceiling and allowing people back in," Diel said. "The problem with that is that we could never guarantee it would never fall again and air sampling is always too late because... the people who were there while the air sampling was going on would have been exposed."

While officials were trying to keep parts of the courthouse open during business hours, even during the renovation, the building will now remain closed until the abatement is done and the construction project is completed.