L.A. Files $18.5-Million Claim for Asbestos Work
The Los Angeles city attorney’s office filed a claim Wednesday for $18.5 million from a fund set up by the Manville Corp. to pay some of the costs of asbestos cleanup in city buildings.
However, the city expects to recover only 12 to 40 cents on the dollar for its claim, filed as part of Manville’s bankruptcy case in New York, according to Deputy City Atty. Marcia Haber Kamine.
The city should receive the money within six to nine months, she said, and it will be used to help pay the costs of asbestos surveys and cleanups in city buildings that began in 1978.
Manville, which was a major producer of asbestos products, filed a bankruptcy petition in 1982 after it became the target of thousands of product liability lawsuits. Asbestos has been shown to be a potent carcinogen.
Several special trusts for asbestos cleanup and compensation of victims have been established as part of the bankruptcy proceedings. The city funds would come from those trusts.
A third of the city’s claim involves the cost of removing asbestos from Department of Water and Power facilities, where the cancer-causing substance was once used extensively as insulation in power plants.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
