Scientists test for potential asbestos exposure to beachgoers at Illinois Beach State Park in Zion

Sep 7, 2007

Ten years after it became known that asbestos-contaminated debris was washing up at Illinois Beach State Park in Zion, Illinois, a team of scientists from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is conducting additional tests this week to determine whether beachgoers risk asbestos exposure by visiting this part of Lake Michigan’s shoreline. Until recently, Illinois and federal authorities contended that the park was safe. The EPA then raised concerns about asbestos exposure at the beach that have led to last year’s and this month’s tests. To perform the testing, scientists copy the activities of children and adults playing and enjoying the beach and sample the air during these activities. In the same way, scientists tested exposure levels last year while building sand castles. The previous tests “generally found very low levels of asbestos fibers that were released and would afford an exposure hazard.” However, a national review panel recommended last month that additional testing be performed, noting a lack of confidence in last year’s tests. Officials say that they expect to confirm their belief that the beach is safe. There are asbestos fibers in the sand, however, and asbestos-containing materials continue to wash up on the beach. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources performs sweeps of the beach each week, recently going to three sweeps each week during the summer months, to check for asbestos debris on the beach. Each test has found some level of asbestos, and some citizens, including the Illinois Dunesland Preservation Society that cofounded the park, remain very concerned that asbestos exposure creates a risk that beachgoers could develop mesothelioma or other asbestos-related cancers in the future. After the samples are analyzed by the EPA and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), a final recommendation on the asbestos risk at the beach is expected next spring.

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