A massive increase in condo conversions has resulted in a growing number of violations of asbestos laws. San Diego County launches an awareness campaign today to warn homeowners and contractors of the health risks - and the fines- that are triggered by releasing asbestos into the air. Lauri Orange is an attorney who prosecutes asbestos lawsuits fro the County.
Orange: 'It's much safer to check before you wreck make sure there's no asbestos before you do the work that disturbs it and you're going to avoid hundred of thousand of dollars in penalties."
Orange says as long as asbestos in ceilings or linoleum tile remains in tact it is not a problem, but if it is disturbed by construction, the dust is carcinogenic. Symptoms of asbestos poisoning may not appear till 30 or 40 years after exposure. The Centers of Disease Contol finds cases have multiplied recently.
Asbestos is banned in some products but is still present in buildings constructed as recently as the 1990s.