Asbestos and Cancer--Risk, Toll May Be Prolonged

Wearing moon suits and respirators, workers arrived last November at the old Franciscan Ceramics factory in Atwater to carefully scrape and bag cancer-causing asbestos.

But the 45-acre site, where buildings were to be razed for construction of a shopping center, already had been picked over by salvage crews in shirt sleeves. They hauled away bricks and metal roofs, leaving dilapidated buildings and asbestos exposed to the elements in rubble piles.

In December, when the South Coast Air Quality Management District inspected the mess, the place “looked like a bomb went off,” an official said.

The air district issued citations to the property owner, Schurgin Development Corp., and to an asbestos consultant and a demolition contractor, accusing them of violating rules designed to keep asbestos from becoming airborne during demolition work.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office has launched an investigation, but there has been no word on whether charges will be filed. The firms cited by the air district say they neither committed crimes nor sought to evade environmental laws.

Whatever the outcome, the Franciscan episode illustrates a national problem that could prolong the toll of asbestos disease.

Millions of tons of asbestos remain in U.S. homes, schools, offices and factories. Every day, some is ripped out during remodeling or demolition work. But often, because of ignorance or to save money, inadequate steps are taken to keep the asbestos out of the air.

“It’s certainly the exception, rather than the rule,” for asbestos to be handled properly, said Richard Steffen, an asbestos expert with the California Assembly’s Office of Research.

Asbestos is a leading cause of lung cancer, ranking only behind cigarette smoking and possibly radon gas among known causes of the disease, according to experts. About 175,000 Americans have died of asbestos-related illness, typically 20 to 30 years after initial exposure. And as many as 10,000 more deaths will occur each year, said Dr. William Nicholson of the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York, an authority on asbestos-related diseases. Most of the victims have been asbestos workers exposed to levels of asbestos that are unheard of today.

Once called the “magic mineral” because of its superior strength, insulating qualities and versatility, asbestos has been used in fire-proofing and insulation, floor and ceiling tiles and hundreds of other products. It is harmless when intact. But when asbestos materials become worn or broken, they can release lung-scarring fibers into the air.

Federal rules adopted under the Clean Air Act are supposed to keep asbestos from becoming airborne during demolition or remodeling work. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is to be notified before demolition of commercial, industrial or apartment buildings of at least five units. And if renovation or demolition involves at least 160 square feet or 260 linear feet of asbestos material, steps must be taken to suppress asbestos dust. The asbestos must be kept wet and gently removed, carefully lowered to the ground, containerized and labeled for disposal.

But the notification requirement, which allows inspection of demolition sites, is being met only 50% of the time, the EPA reported in January. Often those failing to notify also ignore required safety precautions, creating “significant asbestos emissions,” the EPA said.

The AQMD enforces the asbestos rules in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties, plus the urban part of San Bernardino County.

Carol Coy, senior enforcement manager with the air district’s toxics control branch, said compliance here is much better than nationwide, partly because asbestos contractors have informed on competitors.

But “we’re still finding major jobs where . . . it’s more than just a notice” violation, Coy said. “It’s a matter of improper work as well.”

Demolitions Unreported

Data from local building departments show that huge numbers of demolition jobs never come to the district’s attention--either illegally or because of the exemptions that exist for houses and apartment buildings of four units and less. The air district is notified of about 250 demolitions a year in the four-county area, district officials said. In the city of Los Angeles, more than 4,000 demolition permits were issued last year, according to the city Department of Building and Safety--although many were for homes and small apartment buildings.

Los Angeles building officials said that when they issue demolition permits, they do not advise permit holders to be careful about asbestos.

The Franciscan site at 2901 Los Feliz Blvd. long had been under scrutiny by the state Department of Health Services because of hazardous, non-asbestos wastes. Lead wastes from ceramics production were dumped on the site for decades, putting it on the state Superfund list of priority toxic cleanup sites. The department had been working with Schurgin on plans for a multimillion-dollar cleanup of the lead but had ignored the question of asbestos demolition, which it does not regulate.

“I’m being very frank. This is something we’re learning,” said Hamid Saebfar, a senior hazardous materials specialist with the Department of Health Services in Burbank.

Some have been sentenced to jail for asbestos violations. Last year, four executives of Cuyahoga Wrecking Co. were sentenced in federal court to between two and 18 months for illegal asbestos demolition at Kaiser Steel in Fontana.

Safer to Break Law

But prosecution still is rare. And some contractors feel more at risk when they notify regulators than when they break the law and keep quiet.

“Most contractors believe that there is little potential for being cited if notification is not tendered,” the National Assn. of Demolition Contractors told the EPA in 1987.

“Many feel that notification substantially increases the chance of citation. If a contractor elects to defy the notification requirement . . . his chief objective becomes quick completion of the work. . . . Little attention is given to expensive work practices” that reduce asbestos dust.

Even when agencies are notified, only a fraction of work sites are inspected because of manpower constraints, authorities say. In California, about 70% of asbestos jobs are “not inspected by any regulatory body,” according to a 1988 report by the Assembly Office of Research.

“There really is no policing. It’s . . . kind of a disturbing thing,” said Steven Foster, a Glendale contractor who has been remodeling commercial buildings for 11 years. Foster said he has never run into asbestos inspectors and probably exposed himself to asbestos a number of times before learning about the problem.