Westminster : DMV Office to Close for Asbestos Removal
The office of the Department of Motor Vehicles in Westminister will be closed for six to eight weeks to remove asbestos from the ceiling.
The repair was scheduled originally for Nov. 2 but was moved ahead after the office was damaged by recent temblors, according to Randy Monnington, office manager of the DMV in Westminster.
Parts of the ceiling fell during the Oct. 1 quake, scattering particles that contained asbestos across floors and desks.
“The company came in the day after the earthquake and cleaned the entire building in accordance with the (state) asbestos abatement procedures,” Monnington said.
“But early Sunday morning, when we had the 5.5 aftershock, several of the panels came down again, spreading the material containing the asbestos around again,” he noted.
At that point the DMV decided to go ahead and finish the removal, estimated to cost the state about $70,000. Asbestos has been found to cause lung cancer, if particles are inhaled over a long period.
To compensate for the closure, DMV offices in Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Santa Ana, Bellflower and Long Beach will be open two hours longer--from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.--beginning Tuesday.
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