Airborne asbestos creating health risk in California county
Environmental Protection Agency scientists say that naturally occurring deposits of asbestos in California’s El Dorado County are creating unsafe levels of airborne asbestos in the area. The airborne fibers may place residents at a much higher risk of asbestos-related diseases, such as mesothelioma and lung cancer.
Tests conducted by the EPA on the air in El Dorado County found that although asbestos levels were low when scientists were inactive, activities such as playing basketball increased airborne asbestos levels to three to 16 times the normal amount. Other activities, such as biking on unpaved roads, hiking or playing baseball
increased asbestos levels even more. The highest levels of asbestos were created during gardening, which increased the level of airborne particles to 60 times the normal amount.
Preliminary studies indicate that asbestos levels in El Dorado County may place residents at an increased risk of serious health problems. An analysis of tissue samples taken from animals that lived in the area for two to nine years showed that they had about 9 million asbestos fibers per gram of lung tissue. These levels are higher than those found among European livestock from an area where asbestos-laden soil caused
mesothelioma symptoms in humans.
Pathologist Jerrod Abraham says that based on the levels of airborne asbestos in El Dorado County and the number of particles in the animals’ lungs, health problems will inevitably arise from asbestos exposure. “It’s only a matter of time before we find mesothelioma there,” he says.