Asbestos Halts Church Demolition in Santa Ana

July 7, 2006 - Opponents who believe that large developers receive special treatment when it comes to asbestos removal called for the stoppage of the demolition of an old church in Santa Ana, California, being torn down to make way for a 37-story office tower.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District shut down the site after receiving complaints from three individuals, notes an article in the Los Angeles Times.  Those individuals included the building inspector for the Los Angeles Unified School District, who determined that the level of asbestos at the work site was “three times more than federal regulations allowed without special handling.”

“Asbestos is deadly," said inspector Thomas Gordon. "This is not like secondhand smoke that goes away. These guys were bashing down the building and releasing these fibers into the air."

The new building, which is to be the tallest in Orange County, has had many opponents, and the owner, Mike Harrah, thinks the asbestos issue is just a way to harass him.

Not so, says Gordon and other concerned citizens.  They just want to see the asbestos removed properly without causing additional health threats to residents who live in the area.

Harrah claims that his company has already removed the asbestos that was cited in a report filed earlier this year, but acknowledges that additional asbestos was found after demolition began.  A plan is being devised, he says, to remove the additional asbestos in the proper manner.