One of the most controversial lists in Los Angeles in recent months has nothing to do with star power or secret Academy nominations. Instead it’s a list of nearly 1,500 non-ductile concrete buildings that could be at risk of collapse during an earthquake.

The list, which was compiled by University of California Berkeley researchers, had been imperiled since October, when a Los Angeles Times article highlighted the dangers of such buildings in earthquakes.

At that time, UC Berkeley refused to make the list public because it feared lawsuits from property owners, according to a January 17 Times article. The list was compiled over several years with funding from the National Science Foundation. The university eventually turned over the data on January 21, however, with the caveat that the buildings inventoried were only potentially problematic.

“Some of these buildings are perfectly safe in their current condition, some of them may already have been retrofitted but there will be some within this inventory of buildings that are likely to be judged as vulnerable,” Jack Moehle, an engineering professor who led the research team, told NBC4 News, last week.

In that regard, having the list in hand is only the beginning for LA officials, who must now determine the best way of facilitating the individual safety inspections needed for the buildings, which include schools, hospitals, hotels, and tourist attractions. Preliminary assessments could range from $4,000 to $20,000 each and those that need to be retrofitted could cost as much as $1 million, depending on size, according to a follow up Times article on January 25.

The steep costs will likely draw plenty of pushback against implementing safety measures, a persistent problem in Los Angeles. But LA officials have said having the list is a big step toward raising community awareness and political will. In that sense, the hullabaloo caused by not immediately turning over the data might actually be useful.

“When you have a big earthquake, you get a lot done — but after that, it’s hard to get traction,” Lucy Jones, a U.S. Geological Survey seismologist and earthquake advisor to LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, told the New York Times. “It’s really great that we are doing this without having to kill people first.”