Lung Health News, Fall 2001 / Winter 2002
Terry Trent and Carol Adams felt like they were sitting on top of the world when they built their dream house on 10 acres in the beautiful El Dorado Hills outside of Sacramento. That is, until they found out they were actually sitting on top of a naturally occurring asbestos mineral called tremolite.
The couple became alarmed after they started researching the health effects of tremolite, and eventually walked away from their $335,000 house, giving it back to the bank.
Lance McMahan and his wife Sherri also thought they had found a good place to settle when they moved to the El Dorado Hills. But after learning about the tremolite, they decided they couldn’t continue to expose their two children and moved out of the area.
"I picked up some of the tremolite in my hand and crumbled it, except it didn’t really crumble, it just dissolved into the air, " McMahan says. "I looked around and saw kids on their bikes and realized just how hazardous it was. "
Naturally occurring asbestos can be a serious public health threat if the fibers are disturbed and inhaled, causing asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma, an incurable form of cancer that attacks the lining of the lung and abdomen."All types of naturally occurring asbestos are potentially dangerous when they become airborne due to construction or other activity, " says John Balmes, MD, Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and Chief of the Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at San Francisco Hospital. "However, tremolite is more likely to cause mesothelioma. "
Dr. Balmes is also President of the California Thoracic Society, the medical section of the American Lung Association of California, and a member of the association’s statewide Clean Air Technical Advisory Group, which has been reviewing extensive studies on naturally occurring asbestos. Both organizations are actively working to protect Californians from asbestos and have been educating the public about the health risks for years.
Air-Monitoring Standards Needed
Recently, the organizations, including American Lung Association of California Board Member Earl Withycombe, presented testimony to the California Air Resources Board urging the adoption of stringent air monitoring at construction sites and mining operations where naturally occurring asbestos is present. The Air Board did adopt new rules that require construction and mining operations to have a dust mitigation plan, but they stopped short of requiring mandatory air monitoring at every site.
"The new rules are a step in the right direction, we just hoped there would be mandatory air monitoring because we don’t really have a handle on the exposure levels in California, " Dr. Balmes says.
Naturally occurring asbestos is present in 44 of California’s 58 counties and covers about 1.2 percent of California’s landmass.
Mining and Development Increase Risks
Tremolite is responsible for the tragic death toll in Libby, Montana, where more than 100 people have died from lung disease due to tremolite exposure. Tremolite was present in material that was mined and milled in Libby.
But the situation is very different here in California, according to Dr. Balmes. In Libby, piles of material taken from the mines were dumped around town.
"Children were playing on these piles. Libby is not a good model for what might occur here in California, " Dr. Balmes says. "But that said, we must move with caution. As more development happens in the Sierra foothills and other areas where naturally occurring asbestos is present, it raises the potential for exposure. "
McMahan and others claim there are piles of naturally occurring asbestos in the El Dorado Hills, and development there continues, raising the potential to kick up even more dust filled with asbestos particles.
"We are definitely concerned about development in areas of naturally occurring asbestos, " Dr. Balmes says. "We need to get a better handle on how many people are being exposed and at what levels. "
The American Lung Association of California and the California Thoracic Society are encouraging policymakers to continue investigating the exposure risk of naturally occurring asbestos in the El Dorado Hills and other areas in California so that comprehensive policies can be developed to protect the public.
