San Jose - Asbestos & Mesothelioma Resources

With a population of 929,936, San Jose is the tenth largest city in the United States and the third largest in California. Much of the city's housing and infrastructure was built in the post-World War II era to accommodate returning soldiers and veterans who had fallen in love with the area while being stationed nearby. The city took full advantage of the influx of population, and followed an aggressive expansion plan that created more than 65 percent of the city's current housing stock and most of its public buildings and infrastructure.

Those years were also the years when asbestos was widely used in all sorts of construction, from single family homes to government buildings, hospitals and jails. Like most cities with an industrial base and a history of burgeoning growth in the post-war year, San Jose carries a legacy of its history in heightened risk of asbestos exposure and mortality.

Statistical Data

Although California ranks fist in the nation for asbestos-related mortality, Santa Clara County, where San Jose is located, ranks 49th among the 100 counties most affected by mesothelioma and asbestosis. The Environmental Working Group, which has compiled official U.S. mortality data, states that the deaths officially attributed to asbestos probably account for less than 20 percent of all asbestos-related deaths between the years 1979 and 2001.

The government did not begin tracking mesothelioma separately as a cause of death until 1998. When they did, the mortality rate nationwide for deaths from mesothelioma more than doubled. The lower number in each range represents an estimated mortality rate based on cancers that were thought to be mesothelioma. The higher range reflects the mesothelioma rate if one assumes that the incidence during the earlier years was actually twice that reflected by government statistics.

Historical Asbestos Exposure Sites

Alviso South Bay Superfund Site

In August 2007, the residents of the Alviso subdivision of San Jose shared their streets with EPA workers in hazmat suits carrying monitoring equipment. The EPA was not responding to an emergency, nor, they said, was there any danger to the population of Alviso. Instead, they were following up on asbestos cleanup that had been completed more than a decade earlier.

Unlike many other Superfund sites, where the contamination is the result of years of concentrated abuse by one or two companies, Alviso's asbestos problems arose from an attempt to control another natural disaster. Following severe flooding in 1983, San Jose built a two mile long natural stone levee to contain the flood waters. Unfortunately, the city used rock from the Raisch Quarry in San Jose, which contains about 40 percent naturally occurring asbestos. As a result of the contamination, tests completed in 1987 found that the asbestos levels in the air were six times higher than other surrounding communities.

The EPA completed cleanup at the Alviso site in 1996, and returned in 2007 to follow up with more sensitive tests to confirm that they had removed the source of exposure and made the city safer. This is not the first time that the EPA has returned, though. In 2003, on a follow-up visit, the agency discovered that the sealant over one of the capped levees had deteriorated and was releasing asbestos into the air. They reached an agreement with the city to permanently remove the asbestos contaminated soil, and the city paid $245,000 toward the cleanup costs.

Landfills

The Santos Landfill, the Leslie Salt Landfill, and the Sainte Claire Corporation Landfill received asbestos-contaminated cement and concrete waste from 1953 until 1982. Anyone who worked in or around the landfill may have been exposed to asbestos fibers in the air. In addition, the EPA reports that some residents may have used crushed rock from the landfills to filter water and provide drainage for their properties before gutters and curbs were built.

Construction Sites

Many buildings and complexes built between 1940 and 1980 were manufactured with materials that were treated with or contained asbestos. Nearly anyone who worked in the construction trades during those years were likely exposed to asbestos, particularly if they worked with drywall, ceiling and floor tiles, asbestos siding, and asbestos adhesives (also known as joint compound). The following buildings are known to contain asbestos: General Electric Pacific Telephone Building, San Jose State University, Santa Clara Fairgrounds and Santa Teresa Medical building.

Treatment Centers

University of California, San Francisco
UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion,
2200 Post St., MZ Bldg C
San Francisco, CA. 94143-1724
http://www.ucsfhealth.org/