Group disputes report that asbestos at beach safe
A study testing the level and danger of asbestos at Illinois Beach State Park in Zion found that recreational use of the beach does not present a health hazard, but opponents of that conclusion spoke out at a public hearing Thursday.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry used data from air samplings on the beach collected by the Environmental Protection Agency to determine that the beach remains safe for the public.
The study does recommend that the Illinois Department of Natural Resources continue its beach sweeps, picking up asbestos-containing material three times per week.
The EPA took air samples along the 61/2-mile Lake Michigan shore front while engaging in activities such as running, playing volleyball, sunbathing and building sand castles.
"Basically we were trying to simulate actual situations people might encounter," said Mark Johnson, senior environmental health scientist for the toxic substances agency.
The study found that the amount of asbestos kicked up during these activities is not a health hazard. However, members of the Illinois Dunesland Preservation Society, the co-founders of the beach, questioned the legitimacy of the study.
Jeff Camplin, an environmental scientist who has worked with the group on this issue, said the study does not represent a crowded beach that could have hundreds of people performing these activities in close proximity to each other, kicking much more asbestos into the air.
Paul Kakuris, president of the preservation society, said the conclusions reached in the study are not supported by proper scientific research.
"Millions of people and their families are being unwittingly exposed to inhaling invisible asbestos fibers, which can be deadly to them in the years to come in different forms of cancer," Kakuris said.
The beach has been subject to asbestos studies since pieces of pipe, siding and roofing materials were found along the beach in 1997 and were confirmed to contain asbestos. Each study conducted since then has concluded that the beach is safe for public use.
"We feel that we've accurately characterized the contamination and exposure," Johnson said.
"(Preservation society members) have stated publicly that the beach should be closed. We disagree."
Todd Rettig, manager of the division of ecosystems and environment for the IDNR, said about 1.7 million people use the beach each year, making it one of the two most-used state parks.
"What reassures the department is there have been half a dozen studies done in the last 10 years and the conclusions have been (that the beach is safe)," Rettig said.