SJEL has partnered with the Washington Lawyers for Sustainability (WLS) and Washington Journal for Environmental Law & Policy to host a sustainability symposium on April 20, 2012, at Seattle University. The event will focus on making sustainability legal, economically viable, and socially just. Presenters and speakers will include professors, practitioners, and elected officials.
The Emerging Legal Problem of Naturally-Occurring Asbestos and Washington State’s Swift Creek Conundrum
“A large landslide on Sumas Mountain, in rural Whatcom County, deposits more than 100,000 cubic yards of soil containing chrysotile asbestos fibers and heavy metals into Swift Creek every year. Swift Creek is part of an international river system that delivers asbestos from the landslide across farmlands, through small towns, and into Canada. Asbestos-laden soils will slide into Swift Creek for at least the next 400 to 600 years, and flood-deposited asbestos on shores, across farm fields, and in yards and basements will continue to raise the risk that residents will breathe in airborne asbestos fibers,” writes Jean O. Melious, Associate Professor at Huxley College of the Environment, Western Washington University. In her detailed and colorful article, Professor Melious examines the risk and liability issues of naturally occurring asbestos in northwest Washington State. The article highlights the gaps in applicable laws, outlines possible solutions, and argues for the development of rational policy for addressing the legal and health issues raised by naturally occurring asbestos.
Photo source: Jean Melious.