Clues sought in collapse of theater ceiling

Mill Valley officials are investigating whether the chunks of plaster and dust that fell on an audience at the 75-year-old Sequoia theater this week contain asbestos fibers, which have been linked to lung cancer and other diseases.

"The insulation did not have asbestos in it and we are not sure whether the plaster did," Mill Valley building official Thomas Ahrens said. "It may or may not have asbestos in it. It needs to be tested to determine that."

The collapsed ceiling fell "dead center" in one of the two theaters at CineArts at Sequoia at 25 Throckmorton Ave. around 5:15 p.m. Monday, raining debris on the audience. Three people were taken to Marin General Hospital for observation and 27 others were treated at the scene for minor injuries, including scrapes and dust inhalation.

Many moviegoers were covered in debris after the ceiling cover, which was made of plaster and lath and was attached to the framing, began rumbling 20 minutes into the movie and tumbled down.

Asbestos deaths in the United States have been rising since the late 1960s and will probably keep on climbing through the next decade because of long-ago exposure to the material, once widely used for insulation and fireproofing, the federal government reported last month. Asbestos use in buildings increased substantially after World War II and peaked in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 1,493 people died from asbestos in 2000, compared with 77 in 1968.

Mill Valley Fire Battalion Chief Jeff Davidson said the fire department conducts annual inspections of commercial facilities and apartment buildings.

"Our last inspection at the theater was Feb. 11, 2004," Davidson said. "The notation was no violations or correction notices were issued."

"We are not looking per se at structural components unless we see something problematic," Davidson said.