El
Dorado County has made strides but needs EPA assistance.
By Helen Baumann
Elected officials swear a solemn oath to protect citizens "against all enemies, foreign and domestic," a phrase that typically invokes images of an invading army. Until now, I doubt anyone associated it with uncertain dangers posed by underground rock.
But protecting the public health from a potential new threat lurking beneath the ground is precisely the challenge El Dorado County officials have been confronting for years.
Asbestos produced as an industrial byproduct has been a hot-button public health issue for generations. But the study of asbestos found naturally in rock, or naturally occurring asbestos (NOA), often linked to my community of El Dorado Hills, is a relatively new, evolving science.
It's easy to forget there is no real evidence linking naturally occurring asbestos in our region to any actual negative health impacts. Experts are only now beginning to determine what, if any, concentration constitutes an identifiable risk.
What we do know is that naturally occurring asbestos is a global - not a local - issue. This may come as a surprise, given the disproportionate amount of attention El Dorado County has received from both federal regulators and the media. Few will soon forget the premature panic caused last year by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials in moon suits simulating child's play on our baseball fields and bicycle trails.
Naturally occurring asbestos, however, is present in significant quantities in at least 49 other California counties, 26 states and eight countries. One of the leading sources of the asbestos, serpentine, also happens to be California's state rock. In short, it's everywhere and cannot be addressed by focusing on a single city or county.
Nevertheless, El Dorado County has been thrust onto the frontlines. We didn't ask for it, but we're not shying away either. In fact, the county has risen to the challenge.
To date, public debate over asbestos has been monopolized by two schools of thought. One is the "panic and epidemic" group, treating this as the next great eco-crisis and exploiting it as an anti-growth argument. The second group, the "see no danger, speak no danger" crowd, argues that naturally occurring asbestos is an overblown urban myth, like alligators in our sewers.
El Dorado County sees a third way, putting aside the polarized political rhetoric and focusing on the application of practical, sound science. Environmental protection is a process, not an end, and complacency is not an option when it comes to reducing public health risks.
First, we adopted the toughest fugitive dust regulations in the nation.
Then we implemented a first-of-its-kind comprehensive response called the "BEACON Program," emphasizing dust mitigation and public information. It includes additional enforcement personnel and a toll-free 888 number for residents to learn more about naturally occurring asbestos and alert a 12-person team about fugitive dust complaints. Most of those complaints are being responded to within 30 minutes.
With the cooperation of local and state partners, El Dorado County is developing responsible, first-of-its-kind public policy.
At the same time, we continue to hold out hope that the U.S. EPA will keep its promise to provide reliable information.
At its community meeting on May 6, EPA officials pledged to convene an expert panel to evaluate the sampling data gathered in El Dorado Hills and to conduct additional sampling in areas outside of our county. They've since retreated from that commitment.
We've also offered to partner with the EPA to assess potential health risks from disturbances of NOA-bearing soil in our community, but so far have received no response.
Skirmishes over naturally occurring asbestos are often portrayed as the county vs. the EPA. But we both share the same mission of protecting the public health and the only "enemy" in this fight is embedded beneath our feet.
We are not only doing all we can at the local level to keep faith with that mission, but we are also dedicated to engaging the EPA as working partners, not sparring partners.
We have the historic opportunity in El Dorado County to develop a coordinated local response to a growing global issue that can be used as a model worldwide. The time has come for all public agencies involved to work together to fulfill our oath to the people.
