The Federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) today released the final version of its health consultation for El Dorado Hills, CA. The health consultation says that people should use caution in areas of naturally occurring asbestos to reduce potential health risks from exposure. The consultation also says that breathing in naturally occurring asbestos over a lifetime is a potential health risk.

ATSDR bases these conclusions on estimates of past exposures in the El Dorado Hills area.

The final version of ATSDR’s health consultation incorporates changes from the draft health consultation released in March 2010. These changes clarify ATSDR’s conclusions and recommendations and respond to comments received during a 90-day public comment period. ATSDR’s overall findings are not changed significantly.

ATSDR evaluated this problem in response to community concerns about potential exposures to naturally occurring asbestos deposits in local soil and rock formations. Asbestos sampling results from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2004 showed that people performing typical outdoor recreational activities could breathe in high levels of asbestos. Community members asked ATSDR how this finding could affect their health and what they should do to protect themselves.

ATSDR estimated the level of increased cancer risk for people exposed to naturally occurring asbestos. This risk is determined by how much and how often people may breathe it in. ATSDR concluded that the predicted cancer risks are high enough to warrant preventive measures.

“It’s difficult to predict the risk of disease from asbestos exposure. We compared several different risk methods and examined additional asbestos findings from El Dorado Hills. We found an increased risk of disease. The best way to keep this risk from becoming a reality is to prevent inhalation of asbestos to the greatest extent possible,” said Jill Dyken, PhD, an ATSDR environmental health scientist.

“These findings highlight the importance of continuing the current efforts to reduce naturally occurring asbestos exposures in El Dorado Hills. Asbestos-related diseases often take years or decades to appear. As we monitor the situation and learn from ongoing asbestos research projects, we may update our recommendations,” she added.

ATSDR recommends that El Dorado County environmental health officials continue to enforce state and local dust regulations to limit people’s potential exposure to asbestos. ATSDR also recommends that officials continue to provide information to the community about where naturally-occurring asbestos is found so that people can avoid it or minimize their exposure during normal activities. Additionally, ATSDR recommends that the state of California continue to monitor asbestos-related cancer incidence rates in the area in case the rates increase. People concerned about their exposure to asbestos should talk to their doctor or other medical professional.

ATSDR recommends these steps to reduce or prevent asbestos exposure in areas of naturally occurring asbestos:

Outdoors

• Walk, run, hike, and bike on paved trails.
  
• Play in outdoor areas with a ground covering such as wood chips, mulch, sand, pea gravel, grass, asphalt, shredded rubber, or rubber mats.
  
• Pave over unpaved walkways, driveways, or roadways that may have asbestos-containing rock or soil.
  
• Cover asbestos-containing rock or soil in gardens and yards with asbestos-free soil or landscape covering.
  
• Wet garden areas before digging or shoveling soil.
  
• Drive slowly over unpaved roads.

Indoors

• Keep pets from carrying dust or dirt on their fur or feet into the home.
  
• Remove shoes before entering your home to prevent tracking in dirt.
  
• Use doormats to lower the amount of soil that is tracked into the home.
  
• Keep windows and doors closed on windy days and during nearby construction.
  
• Use a wet rag instead of a dry rag or duster to dust.
  
• Use a wet mop on non-carpeted floors.
  
• Use washable area rugs on floors and wash rugs regularly.
  
• Vacuum carpets often using a vacuum with a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter.

ATSDR’s Health Consultation: Evaluation of Community-wide Asbestos Exposures in El Dorado Hills Naturally Occurring Asbestos Site, El Dorado Hills CA can be viewed at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/eldoradohills. A copy of the health consultation is also available at the following locations:

El Dorado County Main Library
345 Fair Lane
Placerville, CA 95667
(530) 621-5540

El Dorado Hills Community Services District
1021 Harvard Way
El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
(916) 933 –6624

El Dorado Hills Branch Library
7455 Silva Valley Parkway
El Dorado Hills, California 95762
(916) 358-3500

For more information, call 1-800-CDC-INFO.

Members of the news media can request an interview with ATSDR staff by calling the NCEH/ATSDR Office of Communication at 770-488-0070.

ATSDR, a federal public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, evaluates the potential for adverse human health effects due to exposure to hazardous substances in the environment.