Courthouse Found to Contain More Asbestos

Article Added April 22nd, 2006 - Print This Story - Bookmark This Story

Portions of the Monterey County courthouse basement were closed for use over the weekend. The discovery of more asbestos contaminated areas kept employees from using the affected area.

Inmates at the Monterey County courthouse awaited their hearings in buses outside the Salinas building for the second time in a week. Overnight tests had, once again, shown high levels of asbestos in the basement of the legal building. The north wing of the building had signs posted on doors stating that tests in the east end of the second floor and the north corridor or the basement had been sealed due to the contamination.

Holding cells and the sheriff’s substation were not in the areas affected, but due to safety concerns those areas were shut down as well. Since there are no air testing equipment in the holding cell area, and other areas in the basement have high levels of asbestos, the holding cells were deemed unsafe. The project at the courthouse had been continuing during the evening, while normal operations were taking place during the day. The project’s certified asbestos consultant said that, like the previous time, the source of the asbestos was uncertain. Abatement crews have been called in for a Friday decontamination to facilitate reopening the courthouse next week.

Article Added April 22nd, 2006 - Print This Story - Bookmark This Story