Earlier this month, it fell on the dusty backroads of western El Dorado County when state environmental regulators recommended that residents pave over asbestos-containing serpentine gravel.
Then, The Bee reported a federal health agency's draft recommendation that those who have played, coached sports or tended fields at El Dorado Hills' Oak Ridge High School be checked for early signs of asbestos-related disease.
Early next month, the beam shifts to the community's sports fields when yet another arm of government, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, plans to release tests results on the asbestos fibers raised from running, biking and playing on dirt fields and trails.
After that, public attention likely will return to the foothill's vigorous housing development, the issue that spawned an eight-year-long series of debates, investigations and remedies concerning the risks of living in developing areas with naturally occurring asbestos.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry that has so far focused solely on asbestos on the Oak Ridge High campus now wants its investigators and those of the EPA to evaluate risks in "the community as a whole," according to a draft of the high school study obtained by The Bee.
EPA officials told The Bee they intend to tell residents that the asbestos-protection measures already in place at the school and elsewhere will be undercut unless local regulators, developers and residents all make adjustments in the way they plan, build and live.
County Supervisor Charlie Paine, whose district includes the northern tip of El Dorado Hills, thinks the county needs to re-evaluate development in areas identified on geologic maps as likely containing asbestos.
For example, he said, locations known to have asbestos in the earth should be targeted for industrial or commercial uses, covered with plenty of pavement to keep the hazardous soil in place.
County Supervisor Rusty Dupray, whose district includes most of El Dorado Hills, said the county already has high standards for protecting against asbestos hazards during construction.
Jon Morgan,the county's director of environmental management, says those demanding stronger asbestos controls on development are exaggerating the hazard in hopes of slowing growth.
