With the busiest beach weekend of the summer behind us, frequenters of Chicago’s Illinois Beach State Park remain concerned about the hazards presented by the asbestos rock readily found on this 6.5 mile stretch of sand along Lake Michigan.

According to the Chicago Sun Times, a story printed in their newspaper in 1997 first broke the news about possible asbestos contamination at the popular beach. Eleven years later, there are few answers as to whether or not casual users of the beach are in danger of eventually developing diseases such as mesothelioma.

State and federal officials have maintained that the beach is safe yet last year, after 10 years of inaction, a special team from the U.S. EPA’s Environmental Response Center conducted further tests to determine safety levels. These tests came about a year after a 2006 study showed “significantly elevated” levels of asbestos at the park, including amphibole asbestos, which is the most toxic form of the mineral.

The article notes that asbestos rocks found at the beach appear as “normal” rocks to young visitors who enjoy building sandcastles. And despite warning signs that ask visitors not to handle the rocks, beachgoers often don’t know the difference between safe rocks and asbestos-containing materials.

Investigators have identified five different sources that may have caused the pollution along the beach, including a massive Johns-Manville site located just south of the park. Johns-Manville currently faces thousands of asbestos-related lawsuits from employees and others who’ve used their asbestos-containing products in the past.

Though the 2007 tests maintain that the beach is safe, advocates for asbestos reform disagree with the findings. An environmental watchdog group known as The Illinois Dunesland Preservation Society believes all the efforts have been inadequate and stress that exposure to asbestos, even at low levels, can cause significant health problems in the future.

Yet the EPA said just last week that a preliminary analysis “confirmed previous studies showing low levels of potential asbestos exposure for recreational users of the beach.” There is no cause for immediate action, they add.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 10th, 2008 at 6:41 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.