Naturally occurring asbestos is causing serious problems for politicians, potential residents and the developers of new housing developments in California's Sierra foothills. The naturally occurring asbestos is close enough to the surface to cause problems for residents, as the dust that is kicked-up by normal human activities like playing sports can contain dangerous levels of the cancer-causing mineral.
Last year, the town of El Dorado Hills, a community that is about thirty miles from Sacramento, spent over two million dollars to put in place a cement cap over all the exposed ground of a local high school in an effort to contain the naturally occurring asbestos that was found underground.
Tremolite, one of the most toxic forms of asbestos, can be found in a type of rock that occurs naturally in California's northern and central mountainous regions.
Researchers from the National Cancer Institute found that the risk for developing mesothelioma increased for California residents who lived near naturally occurring deposits of asbestos; they found that people living within four miles of a naturally occurring deposit of asbestos were twice as likely to contract mesothelioma as people who lived forty miles away from a deposit. The researchers also found that naturally occurring asbestos was at it's worst in the Sierra foothills area of California.
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