Air conditioning repairs Friday at the North Justice Center in Fullerton led to a deterioration in air quality and the closing of the courthouse until further notice.
The repairs “created potentially unsafe air quality issues,” said Kostas Kalaitzidis, a spokesman for the Orange County Superior Court system.
The courthouse’s employees and visitors were unaffected, but the building at 1275 N. Berkeley Ave. has been shut down “out of an abundance of caution,” Kalaitzidis said.
It will remain closed “until cleared by environmental” experts, he said.
All court cases will be heard in the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana until the courthouse in Fullerton is cleared to open again, Kalaitzidis said.
Tom Dominguez, president of the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs, the union that represents the deputies, sent an email to his members saying there was possible asbestos exposure at the Fullerton courthouse.