Yuba government buildings get asbestos check

With a flashlight, Chris Yama begins the search for a known carcinogen present in older buildings in Yuba County.

When he spots it above the ceiling tile at the District Attorney's Office, he gets a sample bag. Then he takes a piece of the substance, about the size of an acorn, and puts it in a sealed plastic bag for analysis at a certified laboratory.

"It" is asbestos, a naturally occurring element considered a likely cause of lung cancer and other illnesses. As Yama began his asbestos survey Thursday of county buildings, officials said the potential risk means its presence has to be determined, if not eliminated.

"You need to know what's in the building, and then manage it appropriately," said Pat Thomas, the county's facility manager.

Yama, a project manager with ACC Environmental Consultants in Oakland, will search for asbestos in ceilings, floors, and walls in every county building over the next three months, under a contract of about $25,000.

His checklist includes the nearly-five-decade-old county courthouse, where the District Attorney's Office is, and newer buildings like the County Government Center in Marysville and the Health and Human Services Center in Linda.

Thomas said every building has to be inspected because even newer buildings could have asbestos if the builder used materials from other countries where restrictions on asbestos are less stringent or even nonexistent.

Most of the time, asbestos isn't dangerous to the average county worker or resident passing through, because it's behind a wall or a ceiling tile.

Doug McCoy, the county's administrative services director, said builders used it mostly as fireproofing — and did so widely — until the early 1970s, when its health effects became better known.

When there's a remodeling project, or when a maintenance worker goes into a space where asbestos is present, it becomes a problem, particularly if particles are in the air, a condition known as friable.

McCoy said he wasn't aware of any cases in Yuba County, but people who've developed asbestos-related diseases elsewhere have filed hundreds of civil lawsuits against the owners of buildings where it has been found.

"You just need to know where it's safe to work," McCoy said. "It's a can of worms."

In the county courthouse, Thomas believed inspectors had surveyed for asbestos in 2002, when there was a remodeling project on the second floor.

But the county has to check again periodically, to make sure "encapsulated" asbestos isn't leaking, as well as verify earlier surveys.

ACC's survey should be complete by late fall, though McCoy said he hopes to get reports on individual buildings sooner.

Even then, the county won't necessarily abate the asbestos, because in some cases it doesn't pose an immediate threat, and because the cost is prohibitive, he said.

The County Annex on 14th Street in Marysville, for example, is slated for demolition. But because of abatement costs — now more than $85,000 and climbing — the demolition is on hold.

CONTACT Ben van der Meer at749-4709 or bvandermeer@appealdemocrat.com .