Silicosis and Lung Cancer News
Hwy. 4 dust creeps into lungs, homes
Residents near Pittsburg widening project complain of illness, dirty surfaces
By Danielle McNamara
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
PITTSBURG Sep. 06, 2004- Since Antoine Northern moved from Stockton to his grandmother's house here two months ago, he has seen a doctor several times for respiratory problems. Within minutes of stepping outdoors, he starts to cough, wheeze and tear up. So he keeps a wet cloth handy to shield his nose and mouth whenever he goes out. "I have to be careful especially when it's windy," he said.
Northern is one of dozens of residents on California Avenue in Pittsburg affected by dust and other debris produced by the massive Highway 4 widening project. For the past few months, tons of dirt, asphalt and concrete have been moved along a half-mile residential stretch of California, parallel to the busy freeway.
It's a problem residents will have to live with for some time. Expanding the 2.2-mile section from four lanes to eight is scheduled to be completed in mid- to late 2006. The section from Railroad Avenue to Loveridge is estimated to cost $31 million and will allow 4,000 more vehicles per hour to use the road.
The contractor, R & L Brosamer Inc., is "doing everything humanly possible. He's doing everything he's obligated to do," said Alfonso Gonzalez, Caltrans Highway 4 resident engineer. R&L Brosamer deferred comment to Caltrans. Two water trucks and two sweeper trucks are on the construction site at all times to control the dirt being kicked up, Gonzalez said.
Yet lawns and sidewalks are frequently covered with a sheath of earth-colored dust. Some residents said they have to wash their cars every day. "You have to dust every day or it would look like no one lives here," said Ethal Mae Harts, Northern's 67-year-old grandmother.
Harts' health is waning and she frequently goes to doctor's appointments, she said. Her asthma, which she has had for years, has been "acting up more since they started digging over there."
Harts' daughter, Johnnie Mae, said the doctor has told her to keep the windows and doors shut, something that's hard to do in the summer since the family's air conditioner is broken. "Look, I just dusted this morning," she said while running her finger through a layer of dust on the coffee table. "It's like this every day."
City engineer Joe Sbranti said the city sends the complaints it receives about the dust along to Caltrans. Sbranti said the city doesn't keep records of the number of complaints received. "I was one of the people complaining recently," he said. "I can see all the dust from my desk."
Caltrans spokesman Steve Cobb said he hasn't heard of complaints for the project, but Caltrans mandates the contractor to do what it takes to relieve the dust situation. "Unfortunately, it's unavoidable. You can't capture it all, and the Delta winds get pretty substantial," Cobb said. "That's what happens when you move dirt and construct things."
Noel Lounsburry, who also lives on California Avenue, said he rarely sees the water trucks. "My mom is a neat freak and dusts every day, but it doesn't help. There's dust everywhere," he said. Dr. Hsien-Wen Hsu, a respiratory specialist whose office is on Gladstone Drive just south of Highway 4, said he has heard complaints from patients.
"I've had informal discussions with other doctors who've said since the construction has started, we've noticed an increase in the frequency of patients coming in with valley fever, which a is a fungal infection," Hsu said. "Obviously dust contains silica and some fungi, and when there's construction it can get disturbed."
Children younger than 14, people older than 55 and those with respiratory problems and cardiac disease are at a higher risk for adverse effects from air pollution, said Dr. David Pepper, who oversees Community Medical Center's asthma education and management program in Fresno.
"There is always a concern when you have people breathing dust," Pepper said. Exposure to dust particles can lead to lung disease, heart disease, heart attack, stroke, cancer and emphysema, Pepper said. He said in a project like the Highway 4 widening, old, deep soil gets turned over, releasing spores and other contaminants into that area that can travel up to a quarter of a mile.
"So, of course, the biggest impact besides the workers is on the people living close to the freeway," he said. Alfonso Gonzalez, Caltrans Highway 4 resident engineer, said approximately 250,000 cubic meters of earth have been removed. At the end of August, workers started hauling away an additional 50,000 cubic meters.
Miners embrace stricter silica dust controls
August 22, 2006 - CBC News - Mine workers in Labrador West are welcoming new rules intended to control the amount of harmful dust in their air.
Known to cause cancer, silica dust also can cause the lung disease silicosis, which has no known cure and is usually fatal.
Jim Skinner, president of the United Steelworkers local at Wabush Mines, said workers have been trying to improve the rules surrounding exposure to silica dust for years.
"These regulations are updated to the degree that they are the best in the industry," Skinner said.
"It's going to address a lot of the problems that residents of Labrador West are having and as well as the miners in the mine, to make sure this place is a healthy and a good place to live," he said.
The Newfoundland and Labrador government developed the new rules with Wabush Mines and the Iron Ore Company of Canada.
Government Services Minister Dianne Whalen said the new rules go beyond the last set of rules, which were adopted in 1984.
"We're going to be looking at our medical surveillance, and we're going to [ensure] dust control programs are being monitored. There [have] been new improvements in that," Whalen said.
The Silica Code of Practice, as it's called, is expected to lead to better air quality for residents of the two Labrador communities.
For now, the rules apply only to the two mines. Whalen said she would like to see them expanded to other mines and quarries.
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