Reiner Thrusts His Office Into Dispute on Asbestos Claims

In a departure from criminal matters, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner thrust himself Friday into a multimillion-dollar dispute over a Denver company’s responsibility for removing potentially dangerous asbestos from private homes and other buildings.

In a statement distributed to reporters, Reiner warned property owners that they have only until next Thursday to file claims against the Manville Corp. to recover the cost of removing aging, brittle asbestos from their homes or buildings. Asbestos fibers have been linked to cancer and other serious diseases.

Manville for years was the Free World’s largest producer of asbestos insulation, fire retardants and other products, according to a company spokeswoman.

In August, 1982, faced with $2 billion in potential damage claims from thousands of workers who had been exposed to asbestos over the years, Manville filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy laws in New York City.

Claim Deadline Set

A federal bankruptcy judge has set a claim deadline of Jan. 31 for those seeking to recover money from Manville to pay for the removal of asbestos that has begun to disintegrate. There is no deadline for claims involving asbestos-related diseases.

Reiner, in the statement released Friday, criticized Manville for failing to adequately publicize the Jan. 31 deadline.

Only about 2,300 claims for asbestos removal had been submitted by the beginning of the week, said company spokeswoman Penelope Purdy. Manville had expected at least 10 times that number, she said.

“For years,” Reiner said, “Johns-Manville (the former name of the company) hid the facts about the health effects of asbestos. Now, a little-known deadline may cut off people’s rights.”

To which Purdy replied: “Hogwash!”

Purdy said Manville spent nearly $1 million advertising the deadline in 50 of the nation’s largest newspapers and in two magazines that are inserted into many Sunday newspapers.

Manville has never tried to cover up the health effects of asbestos, Purdy added.

Firm Paid for Study

In fact, she said, Manville funded a major study in the 1960s that showed that there were links between asbestos and lung diseases. “You don’t go funding scientific research to study the subject if your want to hide something,” Purdy said.

Asbestos is not considered health-threatening until it has begun to disintegrate, freeing fibers to float in the air where they can enter the lungs. The claims program is intended to pay for removal only of deteriorating asbestos.

Despite the money Manville spent on publicity, Jan Chatten-Brown, Reiner’s special assistant for occupational safety and health, described the advertising campaign as “a dismal failure.” Company employees who answered a telephone number that Manville had given to potential claimants knew nothing about the claim procedure, Chatten-Brown said.

Chatten-Brown acknowledged that Reiner’s involvement in a civil case not connected to the district attorney’s office is unusual. She added, however, that the public can expect Reiner to take similar action in the future,

“Mr. Reiner’s feeling was very strong that asbestos is a major public health concern,” she said. “He has, by creating a special safety and occupational health section (within his office), made a commitment to try to deal with public health issues. This is something that we felt, frankly, was a real public service.”

The Los Angeles Unified School District is preparing a claim for asbestos removal against Manville that will total more than $60 million, said Denver R. Andrews, an attorney who represents the district in an asbestos-related lawsuit.

Andrews said he is not surprised by the low number of claims. “A lot of people, I think, can’t even go through the expense of having an inspection of their building. Filing an asbestos property damage claim is not the easiest thing in the world to do.”

Attorneys in the Los Angeles County counsel’s office are working on a similar claim for the county government. Assistant County Counsel William Pellman said he could not estimate the size of the county’s claim.

Filing a claim does not mean that property owners will automatically receive money from Manville, Chatten-Brown said. In bankruptcy court, Manville’s attorneys are arguing that the company is not responsible for any claims for removing asbestos.

Even though Manville was for years the largest maker of asbestos products, about 250 other companies produced similar goods, Purdy said. It has not yet been decided if claimants must prove that their asbestos was manufactured by Manville.

Chatten-Brown advised those wishing to file claims to obtain forms from the American Lung Assn.’s Los Angeles office at 1670 Beverly Blvd. Claimants must obtain and submit an estimate of the cost of the work. Names of contractors who remove asbestos are available, Chatten-Brown said, from the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration.