Fresh scrutiny after asbestos presentations

Please provide any information you think may be helpful to mesothelioma victimd and their familiesThe dust kicked up by two recent asbestos studies contradicting federal Environmental Protection Agency results in 2004 got another pass from concerned residents during a special meeting at the El Dorado Hills Community Services District Pavilion.RJ Lee group chief analyst Drew Van Orden and Network Environmental Systems industrial hygienist Jennifer Bailey took turns presenting their respective studies. The presentations were followed by a spirited hour-long question and answer session during which residents made pointed comments about the results.Despite El Dorado County Office of Education Superintendent Vicki Barber's statement that "this is not an opportunity for other positions to be put forth," the warning occasionally got lost in the discussion.It was the school district that sought a second opinion on the county's asbestos problem after the EPA found hazardous levels at Oak Ridge High School and other sites.Partnering with the National Sand, Stone and Gravel Association, the district commissioned RJ Lee Group to evaluate the EPA results by testing three school sites and one park site. Oak Ridge High School was not re-tested.The company's ties to the building industry and the asbestos crisis in Libby, Montana has since raised questions among critics about the veracity of the results.
Arguing that the EPA's method couldn't distinguish between asbestos and non-asbestos amphiboles, Van Orden said 63 to 86 percent of the amphibole fibers identified as asbestos could not be because of their high aluminum content. Nor was asbestos found in the soil samples it took from the EPA."We found amphiboles, we found hornblende, but we didn't find any asbestos fibers" in the 21 split samples RJ Lee examined, Van Orden told attendees. "That's not to say there isn't amphibole asbestos here in El Dorado County."The latter was a statement that would be repeated by Van Orden and Bailey multiple times, highlighting for attendees the limitations of each study.While NES found lower levels of asbestos at three community park ball fields in El Dorado Hills, Bailey cautioned against drawing comparisons between the NES and EPA results because of the marked differences in testing methods."We're not trying to duplicate the EPA sampling ... or the activity based sampling (performed by the EPA)," Bailey said. NES only had a fraction of the operating budget EPA used in its 2004 study.After the presentations, asbestos expert Dr. Art Langer raised the issue of RJ Lee's involvement in the Libby asbestos crisis, saying, "Many of these arguments were made during the WR Grace lawsuit and weren't thought highly of."Van Orden disputed the claim, calling Langer's statement "a simple fabrication," because the courts didn't address issues regarding low levels of asbestos.While Libby had a heavy population of asbestos and non-asbestos amphibole particles, Van Orden said his study only found the latter in El Dorado County."There's so much aluminum in there, it can't possibly be asbestos," he said.El Dorado Hills resident Chris Anaya argued Van Orden's point about the aluminum content, saying, "I don't care what we call it or what the legal definition is ... my concern is, Is there something deadly in the air that may affect my children?"In answer to another question, Van Orden said, "Our expertise is not in toxicology.""There's very little research on the health effects associated with low concentrations of asbestos," Bailey added. "These are some things that need to be further evaluated."With this uncertainty persisting, Langer asked the two presenters what types of tests they would like to see as residents."I personally would like to see more toxicological studies," Bailey answered.As Barber noted for some of the frustrated attendees - many of them hearing the presentations for the first time - asbestos science is "an emerging field."Calling for "good science," Barber said further studies were needed to address potential health issues like mesothelioma, "as well as taking a look at the economic feasibility of the issues before us."