California’s state senator, Gloria Romero, wishes to remove California’s official state rock, serpentine, of its title. The state rock has raised health concerns, for it contains chrysotile asbestos–the most common form of the material.
Asbestos is a naturally occurring amphibole used in fireproof construction materials. When inhaled, the toxic material poses a serious health risk to those exposed.
Asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma are known forms of diseases to arise from asbestos exposure. Mesothelioma is the most rare and aggressive form, which affects nearly 3,000 Americans each year. Symptoms such as shortness of breath and chest pain typically lie dormant for 30-50 years.
Due to symptoms’ dormant nature, mesothelioma doctors struggle to diagnose patients with the disease early on. There is no mesothelioma cure.
Romero expressed her concern for the asbestos-ridden rock: “California should not designate a rock known to be toxic to the health of its residents as the state’s official rock.”
If Senate Bill 624 were passed, California would be left without an official state rock. However, California has a wide variety of rocky types, and a new state rock would be swiftly chosen.
In October, the bill passed Resolution 6223. The state legislature pushed for the bill’s passage: “To repeal the designation of serpentine, the host of asbestos, as the official state rock, in support of world eradication of asbestos for public health as urged by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization.”
There has been no recorded opposition to the bill, so far.