Uncertainty remains about when hundreds of students can return to their regular classrooms after trustees of the Ocean View School District agreed Thursday to delay work needed to reopen one of three campuses closed after asbestos was discovered.

Huntington Beach district is facing a possible $7.8 million budget shortfall following the discovery of asbestos which closed Oak View, Lake View and Hope View elementary schools so that potentially hazardous material could be removed.

When Hope View, Oak View and Lake View were built decades ago, asbestos was used as fireproofing on metal beams above the ceilings. Over time, asbestos dust began to fall from the beams and settle on classroom ceiling tiles, and while undisturbed asbestos is not harmful, it can become a hazard when the dust becomes airborne and cause cancer and other lung disease if inhaled over time.

Now the cost of removing the asbestos and modernizing the schools is thought to be an additional $9.2 million in costs which was not budgeted for.

The district board has now agreed to finish asbestos removal at Lake View but to put off all work at Oak View, where asbestos removal and construction have not yet started.

The three closed campuses could reopen once the asbestos work has been completed although it is now unlikely the modernization work will go ahead.

If you have been diagnosed with asbestos a related disease, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. Contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately, or contact us online for a free consultation.

Asbestos is a natural mineral found in certain rock formations, which was mined extensively and used in a variety of products, often used in building. However, exposure to the fibers became linked to lung disease and a deadly cancer known as mesothelioma and the use of the product has been banned in insulation and many other products.

However, what is maybe not widely known is that asbestos is also naturally present in talc which is a soft mineral used in makeup and baby powder. Researchers have been looking to see if talc products cause the same health issues as other types of exposure to asbestos.

Researchers began by tracking the talc from where it was mined, then to a talcum powder and finally into the lungs of a woman who had died from mesothelioma having used talcum powder for years. Further research showed that talcum powder had high levels of asbestos which was easily inhaled, especially when used in confined spaces like a bathroom. They concluded that mesothelioma could be caused by use of talcum powder which was contaminated by asbestos.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is in charge of checking cosmetics but it cannot insist that they are tested before appearing on the shelves which means that talc which contains asbestos could be easily available and with no warning to the public.

If you have been diagnosed with asbestos a related disease, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. Contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately, or contact us online for a free consultation.

Wolfe Manor in Clovis, California, is a favorite haunt for those searching for ghosts, but the 92 year old mansion is about to be demolished as it has been identified as dangerous.

Over the past five years police have responded to nearly a hundred calls and the house has been looted and even set on fire. City management stated that they have been asking the owner to clean up or improve the property for the last five years, but now they are moving to have it demolished.

Todd Wolfe has owned the mansion for 17 years and operated it as a Halloween attraction until neighbors’ complaints forced him to shut it down. He then opened it to ghost hunters but the city stopped that too.

He has asked for more time but the city has already hired an asbestos removal crew and plans to demolish the building.

The mansion started out as a private residence in 1922. After the original owner died an untimely death, it was subsequently turned into a hospital and sanitarium. Later it became a mental hospital and a nursing home. Many people died in the building over the years, which is why it has been featured in several “Ghost Hunter” type television programs.

If you have been diagnosed with asbestos a related disease, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. Contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately, or contact us online for a free consultation.

Huntington Beach school officials announced on Wednesday that three Orange County elementary schools are being closed because asbestos has been found on campus.

Asbestos was found last summer at Oak View and Lake View during a renovation project, but now asbestos fibers have been recently found again at Hope View and Lake View so all three school are now closed at least through Friday for cleaning and re-testing. The three closed schools all tested positive for asbestos during inspections in August, then tests in September were negative. But a third round of inspections this past weekend revealed a fiber at Hope View.

Authorities have said that the schools had asbestos fire retardant that was installed in the 1960s and it may be deteriorating. They believe that it might have been released from the attic space during maintenance or installation activities above the ceiling.  Eight other campuses remain open but officials have pledged to test all classrooms at all Huntington Beach’s schools.

At a public meeting on Tuesday, dozens of parents were angry with school district officials over their handling of the issue and some even called for the assistant superintendent who oversaw the district’s modernization projects to resign.

Meanwhile, Ocean View School District has been investigating whether contractors carried on removing asbestos from facilities after the school year began in September, which may have endangered the students.

If you have been diagnosed with asbestos a related disease, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. Contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately, or contact us online for a free consultation.

California has the highest number of asbestos related deaths in the country and some of the largest deposits of asbestos in the world.

From 1999 to 2010 the exposure to asbestos by California residents led to thousands of cases of mesothelioma, which is a deadly cancer caused primarily by exposure to the mineral.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has designated many sites in California as Superfund sites and a number are considered priorities, partly due to asbestos related problems. These include Hunters Point Naval Shipyard which used asbestos widely, leading to EPA intervention and also the W.R. Grace site which processed materials containing asbestos and went on to contaminate the surrounding area.

Asbestos which occurs naturally is also a serious problem and according to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), 45 out of 58 counties in the state have asbestos deposits. The entire city of Coalinga had natural asbestos spread throughout the town following mining and processing activity and El Dorado Hills is home to one of the largest natural asbestos deposits in the world. This means that all residents in that area must take special care to minimize the risk of exposure to asbestos.

If you have been diagnosed with asbestos a related disease, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. Contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately, or contact us online for a free consultation.

Public and non-profit private schools have distinct regulatory requirements to protect school children and school employees from asbestos exposure.

Each school is required to develop, maintain and update asbestos management plans and to keep a copy at each individual school. These plans are required to document the recommended asbestos response actions, the location of the asbestos within the school, and any action taken to repair and remove the material.

The school authority must maintain records to be included in the Asbestos Management Plan which should include the name and address of each building and whether they have asbestos and if so which type of material. The plan should also include the dates of inspection, re-inspection plans and a blueprint which identifies where the asbestos is located.

Then the plan must have any action taken to reduce asbestos exposure with details of the person who is to ensure the plan is adhered to and the name and address of any laboratory which has sampled the asbestos.

Dangerous toxic waste sites in the country are part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund cleanup program. The EPA is responsible for the safety of the local people at 1,700 hazardous waste sites across the country via this program. For example, in Walpole, the South Street Superfund site once housed tire factories and other industries that produced asbestos byproducts and was added to the Superfund Priority list in 1994.

The South Street site is now nearly cleaned up, after more than 20 years of inactivity as the town pushed for a deal with the business owners responsible for the contamination. The result is a cleanup plan that should have the land ready for use by 2016. Part of the deal requires the town to use the space for municipal purposes, with plans for a senior center and police station on the land.

While the EPA said the land will be appropriate for building, digging and other subterranean activity will not be permitted at the site due to health concerns. Each building on the land will have added barriers to protect inhabitants from any potential health hazards. Having said that, Walpole Health Agent Robin Chapell has stressed, that she believes that the land will be fully safe for use.