The San Diego County Air Pollution Control District cited the City of San Diego with an asbestos violation notice last month for allowing asbestos exposure at a downtown hi-rise formerly occupied by the Sempra Energy Corporation.

According to the Union-Tribune, the District claims the City was remiss in removing asbestos threats from the building and disposing of the material according to the regulations imposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Random inspections inside the building, which included various floors of 101 Ash Street, reportedly revealed the potential for public asbestos exposure by noting five violations with outlets to the external part of the building.

Three other entities in addition to the City of San Diego were on the receiving end of citations as well. The first entity was West Coast General Corporation, a primary contractor of choice for the City. Next in line was a subcontractor known as Argus Contracting. Both were cited around Aug. 14, 2019.

The third company to be cited was Enviro Applications which was alerted on Sept. 10, 2019. The inspection connected to this violation was dated back to Feb. 1, according to the Tribune article.

Quick Response by City Worked to Eliminate Asbestos Exposure

According to the Tribune, there were five different testing trips to the hi-rise on Aug. 8, 9, 13, 15, and 20. The first test trip had negative results whereas five out of ten samples on August 9, turned out to be positive for asbestos which could be crushed and inhaled if the circumstances were right.

Reportedly, the County authority immediately posted signs warning of the threat and the City began extensive clean-up on the tenth with high-efficiency vacuums and wet wipes. This clean-up team was made up of ten workers. Further testing produced extensive positive samples on the last three visits, according to the Tribune.

All tenant improvement work was stopped without further action by the Air Pollution Control Authority. Renovation on the Sempra hi-rise was started up again on Sept. 5. The Deputy Chief Operating Officer for Public Works of the City claims that no one was truly ever in health danger and that moving things sometimes dislodges items involuntarily.

The City Has Faced Recent Troubles in The Past

According to 10news.com, this isn’t the first time the City of San Diego has faced problems with asbestos in recent history. A class action lawsuit was filed by employees of the City in June of this year in Superior Court. The employees claim the City had knowledge of asbestos in an office building located at 1010 Second Avenue where they were forced to work. The City purportedly didn’t want to break the lease, so the workers had to stay in the building potentially exposing them to asbestos.

A project to renovate the building was begun in the summer of 2017 and in the winter of 2018, high levels of asbestos were discovered in the building. The workers had complained of breathing issues, but had not got a response until the County stepped in.

In a May 2019 NBCsandiego.com article, it was noted that the City of San Diego also has faced recent citations and penalties for asbestos risks they were slow to take care of at the Fire Academy Training Center. Allegedly, the old building was contaminated by asbestos for decades with floor tile and adhesive that used asbestos and was compromised as well.