Contacts:

Jon Christensen, Bill Lane Center for the American West, Stanford University, 650-759-6534, jonchristensen@stanford.edu

Linda Reinstein, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), c/o ADAOMedia, Doug Larkin, 202-391-1546, media@AsbestosDiseaseAwareness.org

Garry Hayes, Modesto Junior College, 209-575-6294, hayesg@yosemite.edu

Opponents seek common ground over California state rock

The California legislature is currently considering a bill to take the official title away from the state rock serpentine. A lively and at times angry debate has erupted online — on Twitter, Facebook, and blogs. And the unusual story has been picked up by hundreds of newspapers around the world.

But now some of the key people involved in both sides of the debate say the ruckus has gone too far. They are calling for both sides in the debate to stop throwing rhetorical stones at each other and instead use the debate over Senate Bill 624 as an opportunity to educate Californians about serpentine and asbestos, which is found in some forms of the rock.

“As this debate exploded on the internet and in the media over the past month, the arguments about serpentine have become mostly about things other than the rock itself,” said Jon Christensen, an environmental historian and executive director of the Bill Lane Center for the American West at Stanford University. “We shouldn’t be surprised. Symbols, such as a state rock, mean different things to different people. What has been surprising is how powerful this symbol is to many people, and how strongly people feel about serpentine as a symbol.”

Over the weekend, Christensen joined with Linda Reinstein and Garry Hayes, two vocal advocates on opposite sides of the state rock controversy, to try to find common ground on serpentine.

Reinstein is co-founder of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to education about asbestos and support of patients and their families, which advocates for removing the official state rock designation from serpentine, because some forms of the rock contain asbestos. Hayes is a geology professor at Modesto Junior College, past president of the Far Western Section of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, and one of the most active voices in an online campaign to retain the state rock honor for serpentine.

Reinstein and Hayes agreed the educational value of the debate about serpentine was in danger of being eclipsed by polarized political rhetoric over its official status as a symbol. Whether the bill passes or not, they agreed that education about serpentine and asbestos is important to Californians. Some serpentine contains asbestos, although hazardous asbestos fibers are not released from the rock unless it is broken up, crushed, or repeatedly disturbed. Common sense guidelines for limiting exposure to the asbestos fibers that naturally occur in some serpentine are readily available on the web.

In 2009, Reinstein said, ADAO joined efforts with The John McNamara Foundation and the Pacific Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, on a campaign to “Drop the Rock” to raise awareness about asbestos-related diseases. Reinstein’s husband died of mesothelioma. This spring, she told her story to state Senator Gloria Romero, who agreed to sponsor a bill to remove serpentine’s title as the official state rock.

“ADAO understands the geological importance of serpentine and respects its historical significance to our state,” said Reinstein. “SB 624 seeks to remove a symbolic title from a rock that represents pain and suffering for many patient and families who have been affected by asbestos-caused diseases in California, and beyond. Promoting asbestos mining was one of the many reasons for designating serpentine the state rock in 1965. Asbestos mining no longer takes place in California, and the use of asbestos in industrial processes is regulated. This is about education not litigation.”

“State symbols provide a great opportunity for education,” agreed Hayes. The geology professor would like to see serpentine remain the state rock, though he would prefer to have the name changed to the technically correct term serpentinite. Hayes said he understands and respects the concerns that Reinstein and others have about asbestos. His grandfather died of lung cancer.

“We should take this teachable moment to establish serpentinite as the state rock with a clear statement of why it is the state rock,” Hayes said. “Then every child who does a school project in the years to come about state symbols will learn about this fascinating and unique rock, and they will learn about asbestos at the same time.” Hayes said there is abundant information available about the special role that serpentine has played in helping geologists understand the geological formation of California, as well as the native plants that live on serpentine’s harsh soils.

While Reinstein and Hayes agreed to disagree about the current bill and prospects for amending it, they joined with Christensen in urging citizens to learn more about serpentine as the debate over the bill continues, and urging advocates on both sides to focus on education.

“Whether or not serpentine remains the state rock, it will remain an important part of California’s geology and history,” said Christensen, who is writing a book about serpentine. “The rock is not going anywhere. People’s understanding of serpentine is what is at stake.”

###

This letter to the editor was published in the LA Times Opinion section on August 2.

Symbolism of the state rock
Re “Don’t fear this rock,” Opinion, July 27

As a native Californian and mesothelioma widow, I find David Ropeik’s Op-Ed to have misrepresented the controversy surrounding SB 624. Delisting serpentine as our official state rock is not fear-based but symbolic.

Symbolism brings facts to life. In 1965, serpentine was designated the state rock through lobbyist pressure because of the once-lucrative asbestos mining industry in California. Serpentine is a host rock for asbestos, a human carcinogen.

History is a great teacher to those who listen. We cannot undo the human suffering and deaths from asbestos, but we can send a strong message throughout California and around the world that protecting public health is paramount to our California Legislature.

Californians do not need to glorify serpentine any longer as our official state rock.

Linda Reinstein

ADAO wishes to reiterate that Drop the Rock is a symbolic campaign, intended only to remove a symbol that, while originally intended to be a positive representation of prosperity, represents an industry that has taken the lives of thousands of people around the world.

Back in 1965, when asbestos was a profitable industry in California, serpentine, since it was the host rock for asbestos, was designated as the state rock. This was in response to pressure from the asbestos lobby. The designation was intended to call attention to the lucrative asbestos industry. Today, there is no asbestos industry. Asbestos has been a known human carcinogen at least as early as 1977. The reason for designating serpentine as the state rock in the first place no longer exists.

This is why three organizations came together to propose that serpentine be removed from its pedestal as California’s state rock. The California State Assembly Natural Resource Committee analysis states SB 624 has no fiscal impact on California. Further, it does not prevent people from buying serpentine or products made from serpentine.

Removing Serpentine as a state rock is a symbolic public health initiative, that when passed, will increase awareness to prevent asbestos exposure to eliminate diseases and remove a toxic symbol that represents extreme suffering, death and disease to thousands of people.

Marilyn

http://bit.ly/cndkWZ
http://bit.ly/cCdveO

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Much has been said about SB 624, the recent effort to rescind the designation of Serpentine as the California state rock. 

Here are the facts:

According to the AB 265 bill Memorandum dated April 16, 1965, Serpentine was designated as the state rock precisely because of its relationship to the asbestos mining industry in California.  To quote DeWitt Nelson, Director of the CA Dept of Conservation at the time in a letter to Governor Edmond G. (Pat) Brown urging his approval:

“Although serpentine is not unique to California, it is by no means widely distributed elsewhere; and in many states does not exist at all. Serpentine indirectly is of great economic importance to California. It is a host rock for the state’s newest and most rapidly–growing mineral industry — asbestos, now bringing in several millions of dollars annually. (emphasis mine) It is an attractive rock, selected varieties of serpentine make good cutting material and is used for bookends, paper weights, etc. Designating serpentine as the state rock will increase the market for such items and improve the local economy in a number of places.”

In 2002, the Department of Conservation, California Geological Survey stated “Serpentine often contains some asbestos. Exposure to asbestos fibers has potential human-health consequences. Therefore, the Air Resources Board restricts its use as unpaved road surface material.”

So while geologists, teachers and mineral business owners may disagree with one another about the danger posed by the asbestos in serpentine, there is no doubt that serpentine was designated the state rock in order to promote asbestos mining forty-five years ago.

Similarly, there is no doubt that asbestos mining and use contributes to the deaths of hundreds of thousands workers and their families around the world. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, The World Health Organization, and the U.S. Surgeon General agree, asbestos is a known carcinogen and there is no safe level of exposure. 

This educational and symbolic initiative was not designed to address Naturally Occurring Asbestos (NOA); however, through opposition, this remains actively discussed without referencing Federal reports and published scientific peer reviewed papers.  The California Geological Survey (CGS), in a joint project with the United States Geological Survey (USGS), published the California Geological Survey Geologic Special Report 189, describing a pilot project to test remote sensing technology in the mapping of rocks that may contain naturally occurring asbestos.

The controversy about SB 624 has raised asbestos awareness, but also been an embarrassment for California.   The rock was chosen to promote asbestos mining, now eliminated in California due to its unprecedented danger to workers’ health.  The designation of serpentine as state rock should be similarly eliminated, to close this chapter in California’s history.

On behalf of  the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) , The John McNamara Foundation and the Pacific Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, we encourage you to contact your Assembly Member this week and ask them to support SB 624, to remove Serpentine as our office state rock.

In unity,

Linda Reinstein

ADAO SB 624 Federal Reports and Peer Reviewed Papers

California Department of Conservation, California Geological Survey, Facts about Serpentine Rock: http://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/information/publications/cgs_notes/note_14/Documents/note_14.pdf

Facts about Serpentine Rock and Soil Containing Asbestos in California. University of California: Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources: http://ucanr.org/freepubs/docs/8399.pdf

World Health Organization International Agency on Cancer Research (asbestos is a known human carcinogen): http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/suppl7/suppl7.pdf

Chrysotile Asbestos in a California Recreational Area (1979) : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/493972

Cooper WC, Murchio J, Popendorf W, Wenk HR.

Abstract. Dustfall along roads and trails being used recreationally in the Clear Creek area of San Benito County, California, located in the New Idria serpentinite, was found to be 90 percent or more chrysotile asbestos. Personal samplers worn by

motorcyclists using one of the trails showed concentrations of airborne fibers ranging from 0.3 to 5.3 fibers per milliliter, according to methods prescribed for monitoring occupational exposures. The present workplace standard for brief exposures

to asbestos is 10 fibers per milliliter; 5fibers per milliliter is the proposed standard. The average total dust concentration estimated from personal samplers was approximately 20 milligrams per cubic meter o roughly 90 percent chrysotile. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of asbestos exposures of this magnitude, in size ranges known to be pathogenic, resulting from natural deposits not associated with mining, milling, or industrial use.

Environmental Asbestos Pollution Related to Use of Quarried Serpentine Rock (1977): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/867030

Rohl AN, Langer AM, Selikoff IJ.

Abstract. Crushed serpentinite quarried in Montgomery County, Maryland, has been extensively usedfor paving roads and other surfaces. The mineral assemblage includes antigorite or lizardite as well as chrysotile and tremolite. Air samples taken in

the vicinity ofserpentine-paved roads show that chrysotile concentrations are about 103 times greater than those typicallyfound in urban ambient air in the United States.

Chrysotile Asbestos: Effects of Human Exposure (1977): http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/citation/198/4323/1202    

Arthur N. Rohl, Arthur M. Langer And Irving J. Selikoff

Environmental Sciences Laboratory, Mount Sinai School of Medicine of the City University of New York,

New York 10029

ATSDR – Asbestos – Health Effects: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/asbestos/asbestos/health_effects/

ATSDR – El Dorado Hills Site – El Dorado County, California: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/eldoradohills/index.html

Department of Conservation California Geological Survey Regional Geologic and Hazards Mapping Program: http://www.consrv.ca.gov/cgs/rghm/Pages/index.aspx

Guidelines For Geologic Investigations Of Naturally Occurring Asbestos In California:http://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/minerals/hazardous_minerals/asbestos/Documents/Asbestos_Guidelines_SP124.pdf

California Geological Survey – Hazardous Minerals: http://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/geologic_hazards/hazardous_minerals/Pages/aviris.aspx

California Geological Survey: Serpentine California State Rock: http://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/information/publications/cgs_notes/note_14/Documents/note_14.pdf

Statement from Acting Surgeon General Steven K. Galson about National Asbestos Week: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/news/pressreleases/pr20090401.html

The Clear Creek Management Area (CCMA) in San Benito and Fresno Counties is located on one of the largest naturally occurring asbestos deposits in the world: http://www.blm.gov/ca/pdfs/hollister_pdfs/Clear_Creek_ROD/ROD-Complete.pdf

Clear Creek Management Area Asbestos Exposure And Human Health Risk Assessment: http://www.epa.gov/Region9/toxic/noa/clearcreek/pdf/CCMARiskDoc24Apr08-withoutAppxG.pdf

EPA Naturally Occurring Asbestos: Approaches for Reducing Exposure: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/health/contaminants/asbestos/noa_factsheet.pdf

EPA Naturally Occurring Asbestos in California: http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/pubs/clean.html

The EPA Region 9 office is working in areas of California to address concerns about potential effects of naturally occurring asbestos: http://www.epa.gov/region9/toxic/noa/

Fact Sheet Naturally Occurring Asbestos (NOA) in El Dorado County: http://www.co.el-dorado.ca.us/emd/apcd/PDF/Fact_Sheet_Naturally_Occurring_Asbestos.pdf 

California Department of Health Services Infosheet: Asbestos in the Home and Workplace: http://www.cal-iaq.org/asb00-03.htm

Environmental Health Perspectives: The Case for a Global Ban on Asbestos (National Institute of Environmental Health Science)
http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info%3Adoi%2F10.1289%2Fehp.1002285

Excerpt:
Background: All forms of asbestos are now banned in 52 countries. Safer products have replaced many materials that once were made with it. Nonetheless, many countries still use, import, and export asbestos and asbestos-containing products, and in those that have banned other forms of asbestos, the so-called “controlled use” of chrysotile asbestos is often exempted from the ban. In fact, chrysotile has accounted for > 95% of all the asbestos used globally.

Objective: We examined and evaluated the literature used to support the exemption of chrysotile asbestos from the ban and how its exemption reflects the political and economic influence of the asbestos mining and manufacturing industry.

Discussion: All forms of asbestos, including chrysotile, are proven human carcinogens. All forms cause malignant mesothelioma and lung and laryngeal cancers, and may cause ovarian, gastrointestinal, and other cancers. No exposure to asbestos is without risk. Illnesses and deaths from asbestos exposure are entirely preventable.

Conclusions: All countries of the world have an obligation to their citizens to join in the international endeavor to ban the mining, manufacture, and use of all forms of asbestos. An international ban is urgently needed. There is no medical or scientific basis to exempt chrysotile from the worldwide ban of asbestos.

Environmental Health Perspectives: A Worn-Out Welcome: Renewed Call for a Global Ban on Asbestos (National Institute of Environmental Health Science

http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info%3Adoi%2F10.1289%2Fehp.118-a298)
Excerpt:
The asbestos industry argues that chrysotile can be safe with “controlled use,”⁹ but multiple studies¹⁰ have indicated it is unsafe under any circumstances. The International Agency for Research on Cancer,¹¹ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),¹² and National Toxicology Program¹³ have declared all forms of asbestos to be known human carcinogens. In 2006, the International Labour Organization and the World Health Organization both called for asbestos use, including all use of chrysotile, to cease worldwide.^14,15

California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) Press release announcing findings regarding serpentine roads

http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/PressRoom/upload/NEWS_2005_T-19-05.pdf

Excerpt: Citing an elevated health risk associated with airborne asbestos from unpaved roads and driveways, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) today released its findings from a scientific study and recommended that roads and driveways covered with serpentine gravel, which may contain naturally occurring asbestos, be resurfaced. The study, conducted in Garden Valley by DTSC with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Transportation, John Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) and the California Office of Environmental Heath Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), concluded that airborne asbestos generated from vehicle traffic may pose a significant health risk and that resurfacing the roadway substantially reduces the amount of asbestos in the air.

“You have picked the wrong nerds to mess with”…

that’s a good line to end your article, but you should be aware that the Professional Geologists that have specifically been studying the mineral in question (like myself) are aware that there is still significant debate over the health effects of chrysotile (serpentine-derived) and amphibole-sourced asbestos fibers… the EPA has collected the world’s finest scientists on this subject more than once, and has yet to see convincing evidence that chrysotile is any less harmful. To say so in your article is actually potentially very dangerous, as public opinion should be based on the most complete information. Too many people already have limited or incorrect information on this subject- I really think you ought to follow up with a clarification. Unless I miss my guess, this probably won’t be the only email you get on this- if you have any questions or would like to learn a bit more, fell free to call- the number at my asbestos laboratory (which is accredited through California and New York.

Thank you for your attention- at least the subject is out there- now if we could just assure the public is aware of the other side of the coin…

SF, PG

Largest Independent Organization for Asbestos Awareness Continues Mission of Public Health

Washington, DC … July 19, 2010 — The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), the largest U.S. organization serving as the voice of asbestos victims, today released a statement from Linda Reinstein, CEO and Co-Founder, regarding the Drop the Rock campaign.

“In a united call for compassionate action, The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) fully supports the Drop the Rock campaign to remove the official California State rock, Serpentine, which is the host rock for asbestos. The tragic irony of this designation is that asbestos exposure can cause numerous respiratory diseases and cancers including lung cancer and mesothelioma. The legislation behind the movement, SB 624, is about abolishing a symbol that conveys a very dangerous legacy. In 1965, Serpentine was designated as the state rock of California to promote the then lucrative asbestos mining industry, an industry that has since been closed down. For these reasons, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) joined The John McNamara Foundation and the Pacific Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to ‘drop the rock’, a symbol that represents suffering, death and disease to thousands of people.

The Larkin and Reinstein families co-founded ADAO in 2004, when our loved ones were both diagnosed with mesothelioma. Our loved ones lost their mesothelioma battle, but our organization continues educational efforts in their memory and the memory of thousands of other asbestos–disease victims.  Thanks to our dedicated volunteers, ADAO has become the largest independent organization representing asbestos victims and their families in the United States, with a single purpose of education and awareness.  Our annual international educational conferences have proven, over the past 6 years, education is a key component and is desperately needed to eliminate these preventable diseases.  ADAO remains true to our principles and does not make medical or legal referrals.

What is abundantly clear from what began as a city of Manhattan Beach Resolution over the past three weeks, is that the United States needs to embrace education to prevent occupational and non-occupational exposure to asbestos.  This issue is not about litigation, but education through awareness.  Patients and physicians from around the world have applauded our efforts.  ADAO respects and understands the geological debate, but this is not about geology; it is about promoting public health through education concerning a rock that contains a known carcinogen among many of its forms.  It is not about what serpentine is or is not; it is a question of removing a State-wide symbol that represents a substance, that can, in one of its forms, cause irreversible disease and death as it has to thousands of its victims.

As a native Californian, mesothelioma widow and public health advocate, I am honored to work with Sen. Romero and the California State Legislature to draft and pass SB 624, an educational and symbolic bill, solely to remove Serpentine as our official State Rock.

The World Health Organization, The Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Surgeon General agree: all forms of asbestos are carcinogenic and there is no safe level of asbestos exposure. Drop the Rock is an effort to remove a symbol that no longer has relevance for the State’s mining industry and unfortunately perpetuates a false message that asbestos is safe.  According to the State of California Department of Conservation , ‘Chrysotile often occurs as fibrous veinlets in serpentine. Chrysotile in fibrous form is the most common type of asbestos…serpentine often contains some asbestos, and exposure to asbestos fibers have potential human-health consequences…’

SB 624 enjoys widespread bipartisan support. It unanimously passed the Manhattan Beach City Council, Californian State Senate and California Assembly Committee on Natural Resources and is supported by such organizations as the Children’s Hospital of L.A.

The Drop the Rock educational campaign is but one example of what ADAO is doing globally to increase awareness to prevent exposure to eliminate deadly asbestos-caused diseases.  Patients, families, workers and doctors support this symbolic campaign that honors those who have lost their lives and gives hope to those battling disease. We will not be deterred from our mission of public health and continuing awareness on this critical issue.”

# # #

About Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization

Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) was founded by asbestos victims and their families in 2004.   ADAO seeks to give asbestos victims and concerned citizens a united voice to raise public awareness about the dangers of asbestos exposure. ADAO is the largest independent organization dedicated to preventing asbestos-related diseases through education and legislation. ADAO’s mission includes supporting global advocacy and advancing asbestos awareness, prevention, early detection, treatment, and resources for asbestos-related disease. For more information visit www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org.

Media Contact:

Doug Larkin
Director of Communications
Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO)
Phone: (202) 391-1546
doug@asbestosdiseaseawareness.org

“You have picked the wrong nerds to mess with”…

that’s a good line to end your article, but you should be aware that the Professional Geologists that have specifically been studying the mineral in question (like myself) are aware that there is still significant debate over the health effects of chrysotile (serpentine-derived) and amphibole-sourced asbestos fibers… the EPA has collected the world’s finest scientists on this subject more than once, and has yet to see convincing evidence that chrysotile is any less harmful. To say so in your article is actually potentially very dangerous, as public opinion should be based on the most complete information. Too many people already have limited or incorrect information on this subject- I really think you ought to follow up with a clarification. Unless I miss my guess, this probably won’t be the only email you get on this- if you have any questions or would like to learn a bit more, fell free to call- the number at my asbestos laboratory (which is accredited through California and New York.

Thank you for your attention- at least the subject is out there- now if we could just assure the public is aware of the other side of the coin…

SF, PG