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NOA Quarry Workers

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NOA Quarry Worker Risk Profile
Primary fiber types Chrysotile, tremolite, actinolite, winchite, richterite
Key NOA regions California (El Dorado), Arizona (Pinal/Yavapai), Alaska (Ambler/Dalton Highway)
Exposure pathway Drilling, blasting, crushing, screening, grading, road-base hauling
Federal regulation OSHA/MSHA 0.1 f/cc PEL (since 2008); EPA NESHAP for demo/renovation; no federal ambient NOA air standard
Compensation path Lawsuit against quarry/site operator; CERCLA where applicable; no dedicated NOA trust fund

Executive Summary

Naturally occurring asbestos (NOA) is the geologic, non-commercial form of asbestos found in serpentinite, ultramafic rock, altered carbonate formations, and certain metamorphic settings. Quarry workers, road-construction crews, and grading contractors who disturb NOA-bearing rock can inhale chrysotile, tremolite, actinolite, and unregulated amphiboles such as winchite and richterite — fibers that cause pleural mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases even though the worker never handled a commercial asbestos product. Pan and colleagues found that California mesothelioma odds decreased approximately 6.3% for every 10 km farther from the nearest ultramafic rock source, independent of occupational exposure classification.[1] Because there is no dedicated NOA asbestos trust fund, compensation typically proceeds through negligence or strict-liability lawsuits against quarry and site operators, with CERCLA liability available where federal cleanup authority has attached. Danziger & De Llano represents NOA quarry and construction workers nationwide; call (855) 699-5441 for a free case evaluation.

At-a-Glance

  • No product ID required. NOA exposure arises from disturbed geology — drilling, crushing, hauling — not from named asbestos products
  • Pan et al. ultramafic proximity: 6.3% mesothelioma odds decrease per 10 km from nearest ultramafic source, independent of occupation[1]
  • California is the model state. CARB's construction/quarrying Airborne Toxic Control Measure (ATCM) and surfacing ATCM enforce dust mitigation, asbestos dust mitigation plans (ADMPs), and the 0.25% serpentine aggregate threshold
  • El Dorado County produced the strongest US NOA evidence: EPA/ATSDR activity-based sampling found respirable amphiboles at parks, schools, and trails
  • Arizona chrysotile is carbonate-hosted (Mescal Limestone + diabase intrusion in Pinal County), not the California ultramafic pattern
  • Alaska documented 0.212 f/cc breathing-zone exposure at the Ambler gravel pit and OSHA-PEL-level fibers in Dalton Highway DOT samples[2][3]
  • Libby amphibole (winchite + richterite + tremolite) is the controlling example that unregulated NOA mineral mixtures cause severe disease[4]
  • Federal gap: no federal ambient air standard for NOA; state regulation is patchwork
  • Mineralogy matters more than category: asbestiform tremolite-actinolite is hazardous regardless of whether the source quarry was a commercial asbestos mine

Key Facts

Fact Detail
Naturally occurring asbestos (NOA) definition Asbestos-bearing minerals — chrysotile, tremolite asbestos, actinolite asbestos, and contaminant amphiboles — that occur naturally in rock and soil and are disturbed by quarrying, road construction, grading, or excavation rather than mined as a commercial product
USGS mapping framework Van Gosen Open-File Reports (2005–2011) catalog historic asbestos mines, prospects, and natural occurrences. Four host-rock environments: (1) ultramafic and mafic rocks, (2) metamorphosed carbonate rocks, (3) metamorphosed iron formations, (4) alkalic igneous rocks or carbonatites[5][6]
California NOA risk ratio Pan et al. (Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2005): mesothelioma odds decreased 6.3% per 10 km farther from nearest ultramafic source, after adjusting for age, sex, and occupational exposure[1]
California regulation 17 CCR § 93105 (construction/quarrying/surface mining ATCM); 17 CCR § 93106 (surfacing aggregate, 0.25% asbestos threshold via CARB Method 435)[7][8]
Federal occupational permissible exposure limit (PEL) 0.1 fibers per cubic centimeter (f/cc) 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA), 1.0 f/cc 30-min excursion. MSHA did not lower to 0.1 f/cc until 2008 — pre-2008 mining cases require date-specific analysis[9]
EPA National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) Regulates asbestos in demolition/renovation at >1% threshold; not a quarry-dust exposure standard[10]
Alaska statutory definition 0.25% mass threshold for chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, fibrous tremolite, fibrous anthophyllite, and fibrous actinolite not processed in an asbestos mill[11]
Libby amphibole composition Predominantly winchite, richterite, and tremolite — mixture not fully named in older federal asbestos definitions but linked to extreme worker and community mesothelioma excess[4][12]
Compensation pathway No dedicated NOA asbestos trust fund. Primary path: negligence/strict-liability lawsuit against quarry or site operator. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) potential responsible-party liability where EPA has designated NOA cleanup

What Is Naturally Occurring Asbestos and Why It Affects Quarry Workers?

NOA is asbestos in its geologic source rather than its commercial form. When a quarry, road-construction project, or grading operation disturbs ultramafic rock, serpentinite, asbestos-bearing carbonate, or certain metamorphic formations, drilling and crushing release respirable chrysotile, tremolite, or actinolite fibers into the worker's breathing zone. The hazard does not depend on whether the operator intended to mine asbestos — only on whether asbestiform fibers were liberated and inhaled.[5]

The challenge for affected workers is that they often did not know they were exposed. A road-base hauler, quarry-face driller, or aggregate-screening operator may truthfully state that they never worked at an "asbestos mine," while having drilled and blasted serpentinite veins or hauled chrysotile-contaminated crushed stone for years. The exposure questionnaire must therefore reach material source names, quarry coordinates, host rock type, screening tasks, and whether the work site fell within a US Geological Survey (USGS) mapped ultramafic or known NOA area.

USGS's Van Gosen Open-File Report series is the screening backbone. OFR 2005-1189 covers the Eastern US (331 sites); OFR 2006-1211 the Central US; OFR 2007-1182 the Rocky Mountain states; OFR 2008-1095 the Southwest (118 sites); OFR 2010-1041 Oregon and Washington; OFR 2011-1188 California (290 sites). The 2019 USGS data release consolidates these records into a Geographic Information System (GIS)-ready national dataset.[6]

The six federally named asbestos minerals are chrysotile, crocidolite, amosite, anthophyllite asbestos, tremolite asbestos, and actinolite asbestos.[13] NOA exposure cases routinely surface mineralogical edge cases that the regulatory framework handles poorly: non-asbestiform cleavage fragments, asbestiform but non-enumerated amphiboles (winchite, richterite), mixed habits, and fibers thinner than standard phase-contrast microscopy (PCM) can count. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is often required to characterize fiber habit accurately.

United States NOA Hotspots

California — El Dorado County and the CARB Model

El Dorado County is the central US NOA case study. El Dorado Hills sits near ultramafic and serpentinite-bearing formations along the West Bear Mountains Fault Zone. During Oak Ridge High School soccer-field construction, contractors disturbed a highly asbestos-rich amphibole vein, prompting EPA Region 9 and ATSDR investigations. EPA's multimedia assessment collected more than 450 air and soil samples at parks, schools, and trails and found asbestos fibers in nearly all samples, with actinolite and tremolite prominent in activity-based air sampling.[14]

The Pan et al. study used California Cancer Registry mesothelioma cases diagnosed from 1988 through 1997 and pancreatic cancer controls. Adjusted mesothelioma odds decreased approximately 6.3% for every 10 km farther from the nearest ultramafic rock source, after adjusting for age, sex, and occupational exposure.[1] This statistical signal supports NOA as an independent pathway while preserving the dominant effect of high-probability occupational exposure — a useful framing for plaintiffs whose work history combines suspected NOA quarry exposure with other documented asbestos sources.

USGS mineralogical work by Meeker, Lowers, Swayze, Van Gosen, Sutley, and Brownfield characterized the El Dorado Hills amphiboles as dominantly actinolite, magnesio-hornblende, and tremolite, concluded that material classifiable as tremolite asbestos was locally present, and confirmed that soil and rock particles were chemically similar to EPA's activity-based air-sampling filters.[15] ATSDR's 2011 community-wide consultation concluded that lifetime NOA breathing in El Dorado Hills had the potential to harm health, while noting that mesothelioma latency would delay observable incidence for decades.[16]

California's regulatory response is more developed than any other state's. 17 CCR § 93105 applies to construction, grading, quarrying, and surface mining in mapped or known ultramafic, serpentine, or NOA areas, requiring dust controls for smaller projects and asbestos dust mitigation plans (ADMPs) for larger disturbance.[7] 17 CCR § 93106 addresses serpentine or ultramafic aggregate for surfacing applications at a 0.25% asbestos threshold determined by California Air Resources Board (CARB) Method 435.[8] El Dorado County and local air districts implement the requirements through Rule 223-2 dust controls, signage, and project-specific conditions.[17]

Arizona — Pinal, Yavapai, and the Carbonate-Hosted Belt

Arizona's NOA pattern differs from California's. USGS OFR 2008-1095 maps the Southwest's historic asbestos mines, prospects, and natural occurrences, with Arizona containing most of the report's mapped sites.[18] The classic Arizona chrysotile deposits occur where Mescal Limestone was altered near diabase sills and dikes, especially in the Gila-Pinal belt. These carbonate-hosted serpentine replacement zones can contain cross-fiber chrysotile veins and historic workings even without a large ultramafic massif.[19]

Pinal County includes documented chrysotile sites in the Pinto Creek mining district near Superior and at Putnam Wash. The Pinto Creek localities include Kennedy Ranch-related workings, the K and S Asbestos Group, the Independence Group, and the North American Asbestos Co. Mine — bench cuts, adits, and quarry faces are documented in historical mining reports.[20] Putnam Wash in southwestern Pinal County contains low-quality chrysotile in faulted Apache Group sediments and diabase, with old adits, pits, and shafts.[21] Worker-exposure implications: historic pits, exploration cuts, waste rock, and drainage-derived fines may be relevant even if no present commercial asbestos mine exists at the site today.

Yavapai County requires different analysis. The Arizona Geological Survey (AZGS) addressed allegations about asbestos in Agua Fria River sand and gravel and found no known asbestos deposits or milling facilities in the drainage, noting that the dominant amphibole in the Yavapai Schist is coarse hornblende rather than an asbestos mineral. The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) sampled 28 sand-and-gravel operations along the Salt River drainage and found no asbestos in air samples.[21] For current quarry screening, Yavapai operations should not be treated as NOA sites merely because amphiboles occur in metamorphic rocks; the distinction between coarse non-asbestiform hornblende and asbestiform tremolite-actinolite is decisive.

A separate western Arizona concern involves fibrous sodium-iron amphiboles near the Wilson Ridge pluton in Mohave County and adjacent southern Nevada. Metcalf and Buck identified fibrous winchite and magnesioriebeckite in natural settings — minerals that resemble the Libby regulatory gap more than ordinary chrysotile mining.[22]

Alaska — Ambler, Dalton Highway, and Juneau Quarries

Alaska has a broad NOA footprint with a distinct statutory framework. Alaska defines NOA at a 0.25% mass threshold for chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, fibrous tremolite, fibrous anthophyllite, and fibrous actinolite not processed in an asbestos mill.[11] The Department of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (DGGS) Miscellaneous Publication MP-157 provides the state screening framework and tabulates 62 known asbestos occurrences, many associated with serpentinite, ultramafic rocks, mafic metamorphic rocks, and stream deposits downstream from bedrock sources.[23]

Ambler is the strongest community and road-material example. ATSDR evaluated the Ambler gravel pit and found chrysotile asbestos in road and schoolyard materials derived from local gravel. During all-terrain vehicle (ATV) riding beside a contaminated road, average asbestos concentrations reached 0.212 fibers per cubic centimeter (f/cc) — above the OSHA 0.1 f/cc permissible exposure limit (PEL). ATSDR recommended closing the pit and preventing further use of the gravel for roads.[2] The Ambler result demonstrates that NOA aggregate used in roads can create breathing-zone exposures in the occupational range during ordinary dust-generating activity.

The Dalton Highway Material Site 105 episode is a direct construction-worker and Department of Transportation (DOT) materials lesson. Alaska DOT's NOA report states that actinolite and tremolite were discovered during work on Dalton Highway material sites; about 3% of roughly 700 personal air samples were at or near the OSHA PEL by PCM, and TEM showed that a substantial share of counted fibers were asbestos. Juneau quarry data also matter: Stabler's Point rock quarry samples reportedly contained 3% and 5% tremolite asbestos.[3]

Other States

Vermont serpentinite quarries near Belvidere Mountain produced commercial chrysotile historically and remain on the USGS occurrence map. Nevada DOT uses an import-material policy with thresholds similar to Alaska's 0.25%. Fairfax County, Virginia operates a county-level construction safety program for NOA areas, with site-specific exposure-control plans and air monitoring requirements.[24] Pennsylvania imposes site-specific permit limits on quarry projects, as documented in the Rock Hill Quarry record. Oregon DOT's Special Project Report 686 addresses naturally occurring hazardous materials but provides no California-equivalent NOA surfacing rule.[25] None of these states has a comprehensive statewide quarry ATCM matching California's.

How Does Quarry Work Create Asbestos Exposure?

Quarry exposure pathways differ from commercial asbestos mining in target material, fiber type distribution, and regulatory trigger — but not in respiratory hazard.

Dimension NOA quarry / construction exposure Commercial asbestos mining exposure
Target material Aggregate, road base, quarry stone, fill, talc, vermiculite, or disturbed soil Asbestos ore (chrysotile, amphibole asbestos)
Exposure pathway Drilling, blasting, crushing, grading, truck traffic, dozing, screening, wind re-entrainment of contaminated fines Mining, milling, bagging, waste piles, processing
Fiber types Chrysotile, tremolite, actinolite, anthophyllite, winchite, richterite, glaucophane-related elongated mineral particles (EMPs), or mixed habits depending on geology Historically chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, anthophyllite, tremolite, and contaminant amphiboles
Regulatory trigger Often map-based or knowledge-based under state rules; occupational permissible exposure limits (PELs) apply only after exposure recognition Historically regulated as asbestos mining or milling
Proof problem Requires geologic maps, bulk mineralogy, air monitoring, task reconstruction, and method critique Often easier to prove because asbestos was the known commodity

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) section 104(a)(3)(A) restricts federal response authority for a naturally occurring substance in its unaltered form released from where it is naturally found. Anthropogenic disturbance by grading, quarrying, excavation, or placement as fill can move a site outside that narrow limitation — meaning that EPA cleanup authority and potential responsible-party liability can attach to NOA quarry sites where the operator's activity created the respirable fiber exposure.[26]

The environmental amphibole literature directly answers the defense argument that non-commercial or low-percentage mineral fibers are not the same as commercial asbestos. The Libby vermiculite cohort undermines that distinction. Sullivan's update of the Libby cohort mortality study documented extreme excesses of asbestosis, pleural cancer, lung cancer, and mesothelioma among workers exposed to the winchite-richterite-tremolite mixture.[4] McDonald and colleagues independently confirmed Libby vermiculite miner mortality, and Larson and colleagues' 17-year follow-up of the Libby screening cohort documented mesothelioma standardized mortality ratios of 6.21 overall and 4.25 in residents without occupational exposure.[27][28] Bové, Larson, and Antao further refined the cumulative-fiber-exposure model for the worker cohort.[29] Community-wide ATSDR screening of Libby residents found radiographic pleural abnormalities in 17.8% of screened residents with a dose-response by number of exposure pathways.[30]

The fiber-identification question is not semantic. Webber and colleagues characterized the respirable Libby amphibole fraction in terms that include winchite, richterite, and tremolite — fibers not fully named in older federal asbestos definitions.[12] Toxicology comparison by Cyphert and colleagues found that Libby amphibole produces long-term pathological effects in rats comparable to amosite asbestos, supporting regulatory treatment of the mixture as hazardous.[31] Antao and colleagues' clinical review covers asbestos-related lung and pleural diseases attributable to Libby exposure.[32] Ward and colleagues documented an additional non-occupational pathway: Libby amphibole survives the combustion of contaminated firewood, exposing households burning local timber.[33]

International environmental NOA studies supply additional causation evidence specifically for tremolite and actinolite. Zeren and colleagues reported 50 southern Anatolian mesothelioma cases with no occupational asbestos history and identified tremolite and actinolite fibers in lung tissue from analyzed cases.[34] Constantopoulos reviewed environmental tremolite mesothelioma in Turkey, Greece, Corsica, New Caledonia, and Cyprus, emphasizing equal sex ratios, younger age at diagnosis, and community or household material exposure patterns.[35] Noonan's review organizes environmental pathways into para-occupational, industrial community, asbestos-containing product, and NOA categories and explicitly includes California NOA as a US environmental pathway.[36] Emri's review of the Cappadocia mesothelioma epidemic documents environmental mineral-fiber disease in genetically susceptible populations.[37] Roggli's tremolite-specific causation review addresses the mineral's role in environmental mesothelioma.[38] Schneider and Senyigit document environmental tremolite exposure in Turkish workers in Germany and southeastern Turkey, with mesothelioma risk mapped against environmental exposure.[39][40] Hasanoglu, Metintas, and Maule provide community-level epidemiology and distance-decay risk modeling for environmentally exposed Anatolian towns.[41][42][43] For deeper coverage of the Libby case, see Vermiculite_Miners.

Regulatory Framework

Jurisdiction Control model Practical quarry/construction significance
California CARB ATCM 17 CCR § 93105 (construction, grading, quarrying, surface mining); ATCM 17 CCR § 93106 (surfacing aggregate) Map/knowledge screening, dust controls, ADMPs for quarries and larger projects, 0.25% asbestos threshold for serpentine/ultramafic surfacing aggregate
Alaska Statutory 0.25% NOA definition; DOT project guidance and site-specific plans Ambler is the clearest controlled area; DOT materials projects must address NOA where encountered
Nevada DOT import-material policy; NDEP site-specific guidance with 0.25%-style thresholds Relevant for road aggregate and Henderson-area site work; no California-style statewide ATCM
Virginia (Fairfax County) County exposure-control plan for construction in mapped NOA areas Local model for construction controls and air monitoring in NOA zones
Oregon No California-equivalent NOA surfacing rule; relies on federal OSHA/MSHA + delegated NESHAP USGS maps show occurrences but state aggregate controls are limited
Pennsylvania Site-specific permit limits for quarry projects Rock Hill-type files show property-line asbestos conditions can be set, but no general statewide rule
Vermont Stationary-source hazardous ambient air standard for asbestos Historical Belvidere Mountain chrysotile context; not a quarry-specific model

OSHA and MSHA now share a 0.1 f/cc 8-hour TWA asbestos PEL and a 1.0 f/cc 30-minute excursion limit. Historical mining cases require date-specific analysis because MSHA did not lower its asbestos PEL to OSHA's 0.1 f/cc until 2008.[9] EPA's asbestos NESHAP uses the greater-than-1% threshold for regulated asbestos-containing material (ACM) in demolition and renovation contexts, but that threshold is not a safe-harbor exposure standard for quarry dust and does not resolve low-percentage NOA in crushed aggregate.[10]

What Compensation Is Available for NOA Quarry Workers?

There is no dedicated NOA asbestos trust fund. Compensation pathways depend on the operator history, fiber type, and state law:

  • Lawsuit against the quarry or site operator. The primary route is a negligence or strict-liability action against the company that owned, operated, or contracted the quarry, road project, or grading site. Site-specific air sampling, bulk mineralogy, USGS maps, and MSHA inspection records are the evidence backbone. Danziger & De Llano's asbestos claims practice handles both wrongful death and surviving-plaintiff actions.
  • CERCLA potential responsible-party (PRP) liability. Where EPA has designated NOA cleanup at a site, PRPs can be jointly and severally liable for response costs and damages. The CERCLA "naturally occurring substance" exclusion narrows when anthropogenic disturbance — grading, quarrying, excavation — created the release.[26]
  • Workers' compensation. State workers' compensation provides medical and wage benefits but typically caps recovery far below tort outcomes. Quarry workers should evaluate both pathways with experienced counsel.
  • Veterans' benefits. Workers with concurrent military asbestos exposure (Navy shipyards, construction battalions) may qualify for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) service-connected disability in addition to civil claims. See Danziger & De Llano's veterans mesothelioma practice for an overview.
  • Wrongful death recovery. Surviving spouses and dependents of NOA-exposed workers who died from mesothelioma can pursue wrongful death actions. Comparable settlement outcomes inform the value of these claims; verdicts vary based on jurisdiction, exposure proof, and operator solvency.

How Should NOA Exposure Be Documented for Claims?

The proof problem in NOA cases is rebuilding exposure where no product label, no Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), and often no formal asbestos warning existed. Effective documentation combines:

  • USGS NOA map confirmation. Confirm that the worksite coordinates fall within a Van Gosen Open-File Report mapped ultramafic, serpentinite, carbonate-hosted chrysotile, or other NOA host-rock area. The 2019 USGS data release is the GIS-ready national dataset.[6]
  • Historical aerial photos and site geology reports. State geological survey publications, county geologic maps, and pre-construction site assessments can confirm host-rock identity at the time the worker was on site.
  • Employer safety records and MSHA inspection records. Sample-day records, citations, and quarry-permit files document what operators knew and when.
  • Site-specific air monitoring data. CARB ADMP records, EPA monitoring reports, BAAQMD-administered plans, and El Dorado County Rule 223-2 inspection records provide objective fiber-concentration evidence.[44][17]
  • Bulk mineralogy with TEM characterization. Where samples remain available, transmission electron microscopy can identify asbestiform habit, fiber type, and presence of unregulated amphiboles that PCM may miss.
  • Medical documentation. Mesothelioma diagnosis, chest imaging, occupational history statement, and where appropriate fiber-burden analysis tie the exposure pathway to the disease.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is NOA and why does it cause mesothelioma?

Naturally occurring asbestos (NOA) refers to chrysotile, tremolite, actinolite, and contaminant amphiboles found in geologic formations rather than commercial products. When a quarry, road-construction project, or grading operation disturbs NOA-bearing rock, drilling, blasting, and crushing release respirable fibers into the worker's breathing zone. Asbestiform fibers cause pleural mesothelioma regardless of whether their source was a commercial asbestos mine or a serpentinite aggregate pit — the lung does not distinguish between commercial and geologic origin once a fiber has been inhaled.

I worked in a quarry — how do I know if there was NOA present?

Start with the USGS Van Gosen Open-File Reports and the 2019 conterminous US data release. If the quarry's coordinates fall within a mapped ultramafic, serpentinite, carbonate-hosted chrysotile, or other documented NOA host-rock area, NOA exposure is plausible and warrants further investigation. A mesothelioma attorney experienced with NOA cases can request operator records, MSHA inspection files, and where available bulk material testing.

Can I file a lawsuit if I don't know the product I was exposed to?

Yes. NOA quarry cases proceed on geologic exposure rather than product identification. The defendant is the quarry or site operator, not a product manufacturer. Evidence focuses on host rock type, task-based exposure reconstruction, air monitoring data where available, and state regulatory compliance history. Danziger & De Llano regularly handles cases where the worker never saw a labeled asbestos product. Call (855) 699-5441 for a confidential evaluation.

What is the USGS NOA map and how is it used in litigation?

The USGS Van Gosen series catalogs reported historic asbestos mines, prospects, and natural occurrences from geologic literature. The maps and the 2019 data release identify locations and host-rock types but do not measure current air exposure. In litigation, the map provides a screening foundation — if a quarry sits within a mapped NOA area, the analysis proceeds to bulk testing, air sampling, and operator-knowledge evidence.

Are there trust funds for NOA quarry workers?

No dedicated NOA quarry asbestos trust fund exists. NOA workers pursue compensation through negligence or strict-liability lawsuits against the quarry/site operator, CERCLA potential responsible-party claims where applicable, workers' compensation, and where the worker had concurrent military service, VA service-connected disability benefits.

What is CERCLA and how does it apply to NOA exposure?

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) authorizes EPA to compel cleanup of hazardous-substance releases and recover costs from potentially responsible parties. CERCLA section 104(a)(3)(A) limits federal authority for a "naturally occurring substance" in its unaltered form, but anthropogenic disturbance — quarrying, grading, fill placement — typically moves an NOA site outside that exclusion. Where EPA has designated NOA cleanup, plaintiffs can pursue PRP liability alongside or instead of common-law actions.[26]

What states have the most documented NOA worker exposure?

California (El Dorado County, Sierra foothill ultramafic belt, Coast Ranges), Arizona (Pinal County chrysotile, Mohave County winchite-bearing amphiboles), and Alaska (Ambler, Dalton Highway, Juneau quarries) have the most extensive documented worker and community exposure. Vermont (Belvidere Mountain), Pennsylvania (Rock Hill Quarry), Virginia (Fairfax County), and Nevada also have documented occurrences. Outside California and Alaska, monitoring data are often project-specific and held in state agency files rather than centralized public datasets.

Get Help

If you worked in a quarry, road-construction crew, or grading operation in a mapped NOA area — California, Arizona, Alaska, Vermont, Pennsylvania, or any region the USGS has identified as asbestos-bearing — and you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you have compensation options even though no commercial asbestos product can be named.

Danziger & De Llano provides free case evaluations and represents NOA quarry workers nationwide. Call (855) 699-5441 or visit dandell.com for a confidential consultation. The firm's mesothelioma compensation practice covers lawsuit, CERCLA, workers' compensation, and concurrent VA benefit pathways.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Pan XL, Day HW, Wang W, Beckett LA, Schenker MB. Residential proximity to naturally occurring asbestos and mesothelioma risk in California. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2005;172(8):1019-1025. PMID 15976368. PubMed
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Exposure Investigation Final Report: Ambler Gravel Pit, Ambler, Alaska, June 28, 2007. Alaska DOT
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Perkins RA, et al. Naturally Occurring Asbestos in Alaska and Experiences and Policy Considerations of Other States Regarding Its Use. Alaska DOT&PF Final Report, 2009. Alaska DOT&PF
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Sullivan PA. Vermiculite, respiratory disease, and asbestos exposure in Libby, Montana: update of a cohort mortality study. Environ Health Perspect. 2007;115(4):579-585. PMID 17450227. PubMed
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Van Gosen BS. The geology of asbestos in the United States and its practical applications. U.S. Geological Survey, 2007. USGS
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Van Gosen BS. Reported historic asbestos mines, historic asbestos prospects, and other natural occurrences of asbestos in the conterminous United States. U.S. Geological Survey Data Release, 2019. doi:10.5066/P92IB844. USGS
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 California Code of Regulations, Title 17, Section 93105. Asbestos Airborne Toxic Control Measure for Construction, Grading, Quarrying, and Surface Mining Operations. Cornell LII
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 California Air Resources Board. Asbestos Airborne Toxic Control Measure for Surfacing Applications, 17 CCR 93106. CARB
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Mine Safety and Health Administration. 2008 asbestos final rule lowering asbestos PEL, Federal Register Vol. 73 No. 41. MSHA
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Asbestos NESHAP, 40 CFR Part 61 Subpart M. eCFR
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Alaska Statute 44.42.430. Naturally occurring asbestos definition. Alaska Legislature
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Webber JS, Blake DJ, Ward TJ, Pfau JC. Separation and characterization of respirable amphibole fibers from Libby, Montana. Inhal Toxicol. 2008;20(8):733-740. PMID 18569095. PubMed
  13. ↑ Sporn TA. Mineralogy of asbestos. Recent Results Cancer Res. 2011;189:1-11. PMID 21479892. PubMed
  14. ↑ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9. El Dorado Hills Naturally Occurring Asbestos Multimedia Exposure Assessment. EPA
  15. ↑ Meeker GP, Lowers HA, Swayze GA, Van Gosen BS, Sutley SJ, Brownfield IK. Mineralogy and Morphology of Amphiboles Observed in Soils and Rocks in El Dorado Hills, California. USGS Open-File Report 2006-1362. USGS
  16. ↑ Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Evaluation of Community-Wide Asbestos Exposures, El Dorado Hills Naturally Occurring Asbestos Site, 2011. ATSDR
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 El Dorado County Air Quality Management District. Rule 223-2 Fugitive Dust: Asbestos Hazard Mitigation. El Dorado County AQMD
  18. ↑ Van Gosen BS. Reported Historic Asbestos Mines, Historic Asbestos Prospects, and Natural Asbestos Occurrences in the Southwestern United States. USGS Open-File Report 2008-1095. USGS
  19. ↑ Chidester AH, Shride AF. Asbestos in the United States, exclusive of Alaska and Hawaii. U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Investigations Resource Map MR-17, 1962. USGS
  20. ↑ U.S. Bureau of Mines. Chrysotile-Asbestos Deposits of Arizona. CDC Stacks
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Arizona Geological Survey. Is Asbestos Present in Agua Fria River Sand and Gravel? Open-File Report 03-06. AZGS
  22. ↑ Metcalf RV, Buck BJ. Genesis and health risk implications of an unusual occurrence of fibrous NaFe3+-amphibole. Geology. 2015;43(1):63-66. doi:10.1130/G36199.1.
  23. ↑ Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys. Preliminary Evaluation of Bedrock Potential for Naturally Occurring Asbestos in Alaska. Miscellaneous Publication 157. DGGS
  24. ↑ Fairfax County, Virginia. Construction Safety in Areas of Naturally Occurring Asbestos. Fairfax County
  25. ↑ Oregon Department of Transportation. Naturally Occurring Hazardous Materials, Special Project Report 686. Oregon DOT
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Framework for Investigating Asbestos-Contaminated Superfund Sites. OSWER Directive 9200.0-68, September 2008. EPA
  27. ↑ McDonald JC, Harris J, Armstrong B. Mortality in a cohort of vermiculite miners exposed to fibrous amphibole in Libby, Montana. Occup Environ Med. 2004;61(4):363-366. PMID 15031396. PubMed
  28. ↑ Larson TC, Williamson L, Antao VC. Follow-Up of the Libby, Montana Screening Cohort: A 17-Year Mortality Study. J Occup Environ Med. 2020;62(1):e1-e6. PMID 31714372. PubMed
  29. ↑ Larson TC, Antao VC, Bove FJ. Vermiculite worker mortality: estimated effects of occupational exposure to Libby amphibole. J Occup Environ Med. 2010;52(5):555-560. PMID 20431408. PubMed
  30. ↑ Peipins LA, Lewin M, Campolucci S, Lybarger JA, Miller A, Middleton D, et al. Radiographic abnormalities and exposure to asbestos-contaminated vermiculite in the community of Libby, Montana, USA. Environ Health Perspect. 2003;111(14):1753-1759. PMID 14594627. PubMed
  31. ↑ Cyphert JM, Carlin DJ, Nyska A, Schladweiler MC, Ledbetter AD, Shannahan JH, et al. Comparative long-term toxicity of Libby amphibole and amosite asbestos in rats after single or multiple intratracheal exposures. J Toxicol Environ Health A. 2015;78(3):151-165. PMID 25506632. PubMed
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  42. ↑ Metintas M, Ozdemir N, Hillerdal G, Uçgun I, Metintas S, Baykul C, et al. Environmental asbestos exposure and malignant pleural mesothelioma. Respir Med. 1999;93(5):349-355. PMID 10464903. PubMed
  43. ↑ Maule MM, Magnani C, Dalmasso P, Mirabelli D, Merletti F, Biggeri A. Modeling mesothelioma risk associated with environmental asbestos exposure. Environ Health Perspect. 2007;115(7):1066-1071. PMID 17637924. PubMed
  44. ↑ Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Naturally Occurring Asbestos program. BAAQMD
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