September 28th, 2006
Part of a court house building has had to be closed down after asbestos was discovered. The closure came abruptly after officials discovered the asbestos contamination, and operation scheduled in the closed section of the court house has had to be moved to alternative locations until the problem has been rectified.
The North wing of the Monterey County Court House was closed down by officials late last week. The decision to close the wing of the building came after a number of spot inspections were carried out in the section between the ceiling tiles and the ceiling itself.
The inspection that was carried out revealed that there was old asbestos insulation present, and that the material was disintegrating, which posed the risk of airborne asbestos fibers, which could result in a number of health problems for those that breathe them in, including a deadly form of cancer known as mesothelioma.
County public works director Ron Lundquist said: "This is a proactive, preventative move to safeguard the public and employees. We found this problem before it became a hazard."

