Naturally Occurring Asbestos Sources in the United States. The Ultimate Geology History Lesson by the EPA. Hiking in the Mountains in Colorado, Breath Deeply, and feel that Tickle? Yea.

Last week, we discussed the yearly publications on asbestos by the USGS side of the United States Government. In this Blog, we will go instead to the Environmental Protection Agency to discuss the geology history side of asbestos, with a focus on where it is naturally located and the risk of inhaling those asbestos fibers. The exact title of the publication is Identification and Assessment of Asbestos Emissions from Incidental Sources of Asbestos (“Assessment”) published by the EPA in September 1974 and it is amazing in its details covering the entire United States even down to counties and cities. If you are investigating the potential historic asbestos exposure arising from the ground beneath you, this is your starting point.

I apologize for the condition of the copying. These pages are just too thin and I had trouble uploading easily readable versions.

The Index for the Assessment is in state alphabetical order as follows:

Let’s use my home city of Colorado Springs, Colorado as an example. Colorado Springs — known for Pike’s Peak, the Rocky Mountains, hiking and biking trails, Olympic Training, and everything good outdoors. Turns out, that we are also a hot spot for naturally occurring asbestos emissions. Note the marked areas on the page below:

So, when taking that deep breath at the top of Pike’s Peak, you are taking in more than just cold air. I have to admit to needing to look up the phrase used by the EPA of “fugitive asbestos emissions”. The EPA uses the term “fugitive dust emissions” when discussing natural or man-associated particulates that may become airborne due to the forces of the wind and/or man’s activity. They use the term “fugitive emissions” (without the word “dust”) typically for emissions caused by industrial or manufacturing operations.

Let’s take a look at New York. From the below page, it has Chrysotile, talc with Tremolite, and Anthophyllite. Sort of a little of everything.

Now, let’s take a look at what the EPA thought about Libby, Montana in 1974:

Let’s be clear on this one. In 1974, the EPA knew that the Libby Mine included large quantities of Tremolite amphibole asbestos mixed with the Vermiculite production with the ore being milled at the open pit mine site. Yea, that failure of the EPA to act killed and hurt a whole lot of people. A town left to die (archive.org).

Of all the pages, I found the below to be the most interesting. The EPA had two of the mine sites tested to see whether mining would cause potentially serious asbestos emissions. The answer was no, the emissions from the mining does not cause a public health hazard, albeit the testing company left themselves some wiggle room because of the limited sampling and analysis. With this wiggle room on such a critical issue, I wonder why the EPA did not follow up to get additional details on this type of exposure with more testing.

You have to wonder whether the citizens living near Libby, Montana, the City formerly known as Asbestos, Canada, Wittenoom, Western Australia, and so many other asbestos mining towns agree with these test results after all these years.

Let me know if you would like additional information about the Assessment or particular information. Please provide your comments or suggestions to me at TheAsbestosBlog@gmail.com or in the comment box.