Atwater Residents Warned of Asbestos Contamination

State health officials on Friday notified about 1,000 families and businesses near a former ceramics plant in Atwater that dangerous asbestos contamination has been found on the site.

Officials said the contamination poses no immediate threat to the neighborhood but warned residents to stay away from the Franciscan Ceramics plant, a sprawling complex of crumbling and partly demolished brick buildings on a 45-acre site at 2901 Los Feliz Blvd.

High levels of cancer-causing asbestos, which was used as insulation in the ceilings and walls of factory buildings and around kilns, was found at several locations on the sprawling grounds where demolition has begun.

Contamination Notices

Notices warning of the contamination were distributed door to door Friday after state Department of Health Services officials decided that the community should be alerted, public information officer Jim Marxen said.

Representatives of the health department and Los Angeles Councilman John Ferraro will be in front of the site from 9 to 11 a.m. today to answer any questions residents may have, Marxen said.

Officials from the South Coast Air Quality Management District first noticed evidence of the hazardous material on Dec. 9 during a routine inspection of the removal of an underground tank.

District officials said they discovered that Schurgin Development Corp. of Los Angeles, which bought the site several weeks ago, had illegally begun demolishing buildings without notifying the district, said Jacqueline Switzer, district spokeswoman. Samples taken from the site were confirmed as asbestos on Dec. 16 and the company was ordered to immediately begin a cleanup.

Costly Cleanup

Schurgin plans to build a shopping center after a costly cleanup of lead residue on the site from decades of ceramics manufacturing. The asbestos contamination has now complicated the task.

Schurgin Vice President Emmett R. Albergotti said company officials will also be at the site today to meet with residents. He said the company intends “to do everything absolutely by the book as it needs to be done.”

Marxen said the contamination has not spread to the neighborhood because rains have prevented the material from blowing away. However, he said, several regulatory agencies are continuing to monitor the site and are conducting daily tests.

“There is no danger to residents now, luckily, because of the rains,” Marxen said. “But we want them to stay off of the site.”

Lung Disease

A legislative report on asbestos released this year said that the material can lead to chronic lung disease and several forms of lung cancer. Asbestos is in its most dangerous form when it dries and turns to dust in particles that often are too small to be seen by the naked eye, the report warned.

Schurgin has been cited by the AQMD for improper disposal of asbestos and for not notifying the district. The violations can carry a maximum penalty of $25,000 a day.