Residents Claim Companies Exposed Them To Asbestos

EL CAJON, Calif. -- Residents in an East County area said they believe they have been exposed to a deadly disease that might not show up in their bodies for decades.

What is worse, they said, was that the company that exposed them was warned beforehand.

People who live in an El Cajon neighborhood said they believe they’re living with a silent killer -- a disease that usually stays hidden for years.

Trisha Valverde thinks her daughter, 6-year-old Sara Louise, is already suffering the consequences of exposure to asbestos two years ago.

"Her breathing is compromised every day,” said Valverde. "Until recently, I didn't correlate the two, her illness and the asbestos, but it all adds up when I look at her medical records. She had this thickening in her lungs and debris infiltrates.”

Valverde said her daughter’s exposure came from debris flying around during the renovation of the community clubhouse at the Greenfield Mobile Home Estates on Aug. 31, 2004.

Resident Debbie Koshik told 10News, "There was white powder dust all over everything. Our black truck that was parked was white; our trash cans that are green were white. They just did it the cheapest way they could.”

Koshik said the exposure led to contaminants entering her lungs, causing shortness of breath.

Legislative advocate Sammi Taylor said, “Asbestos contamination in the lungs and in the interior portion of the body is a death sentence; there is no reprieve from this.”

Taylor serves as an advocate for people who live in manufactured homes.

She said the companies involved, Total Services of America, Greenfield Associates and Sierra Corporate Management, should have known better.

Valverde had called an inspector from the Air Pollution Control District before the demolition began.

“The inspector admitted to me afterwards. He said, ‘I blew it. I should have decontaminated everybody and everything in the proximity,’” she said.

Records showed the inspector initially did not see evidence of anything happening.

However, after returning the next day, he saw “piles of flooring” and black garbage bags with ceiling tiles that tested positive for asbestos.

The ACPD refused to allow 10News to interview the inspector. They said they could not due to current litigation.

However, the agency did fine the companies involved $27,000.

"Asbestos, in general, is very dangerous,” said Dr. Gordon Yung, a lung disease specialist at the University of California, San Diego.

Yung did not know the specifics of the incident in El Cajon but said the amount of danger depends on three factors.

"It depends on the intensity of exposure, the duration, and the type of fibers,” said Yung.

So, was the exposure enough to be considered harmful?

That is the subject of a debate to be played out in a San Diego courtroom.

A lawsuit was filed by 180 Greenfield residents, and a hearing is set for next week.

10News contacted attorneys for the owners of Greenfield by fax and by mail for a comment on the story, but there has been no response.