Healthcare district issues thumbs down on Liberty Quarry project

Attendees of the Fallbrook Healthcare District (FHD) board meeting on October 13 applauded after board president Milt Davies announced that the group would be sending the Riverside Board of Supervisors a letter stating their non-support of the proposed Liberty Quarry.

Dr. Daniel Robbins – who is the chair of the pediatric department at Rancho Springs and Inland Valley Medical Center, a physician in Temecula, and member of the staff of both Palomar Medical Center and Rady’s Children’s Hospital – addressed the board of directors during the meeting, speaking against the quarry being proposed in the area by Granite Construction Company.

“I represent over 100 doctors from both the Temecula and Fallbrook area that oppose the quarry project, from the chief of staff of an ICU to the chief of staff of medical wards and pulmonologists,” said Robbins. “If it is approved, the air quality in the surrounding area will go down. When blasting granite, quartz is formed. The blast sends small, microscopic quartz crystals into the air, which enters deep into our lungs. These crystals enter the smallest sacs of our lungs. I’m worried about the impact that would have upon those parts of the lungs of residents, especially the elderly and infants.”

Karie Reuther, director of community relations for the Liberty Quarry, believes that individuals led by emotion are sharing a large amount of information about the potential effects of the quarry.

“There are certain individuals who are very emotional about the project, especially when they have a stance of wanting to keep things the way they are,” said Reuther. “They don’t want change.”

According to Reuther, the DEIR on the quarry is available on the Granite Construction Web site, http://www.graniteconstruction.com.

“The study is site specific. The report did look at the air quality of the project, and the outcome overall is not going to have any health impact on the residents,” said Reuther. “With all of the unprecedented environmental safeguards and mitigation measures we have taken, Liberty Quarry will be among the safest mines in the nation and we will ensure it has no significant health risk.”

Granite Construction asked Dr. Patrick Hessel, an epidemiologist who has studied the health effects of silica for more than 25 years, and has had a focus on occupational and environmental lung diseases, to do his own report on the project.

“It is not surprising that questions have been raised regarding the potential for health impacts from the proposed Liberty Quarry,” said Hessel. “Assessment of the possibility for health risks must be based on the available scientific evidence if it is to be meaningful and relevant. Put simply, the scientific evidence clearly shows that there will be no respiratory health effects resulting from the proposed quarry. This includes silicosis, asthma and other respiratory problems.”

Silicosis is one of the larger concerns of having the quarry so close.

“Silicosis is virtually unknown outside occupational settings. Even among those exposed to silica on the job, silicosis is rare in the United States,” explained Hessel. “Silica levels at the property line will be hundreds of times lower than levels found to be safe in scientific studies, and the levels will decrease even more with distance from the quarry.”

“Beyond the question of silicosis, numerous scientific studies have examined the relationship between asthma and exposure to silica,” continued Hessel. “No relationship with asthma has been found. In fact, respiratory problems of any sort have only been found at silica levels many thousands of times higher than those that will be found at the property line of the proposed quarry.”

The limit of three micrograms per cubic meter for silica in the outdoor air was set by the state of California after it considered the available scientific research, and is a very conservative standard, said Hessel.

“This limit incorporates significant safety factors to ensure that there are no adverse health impacts at those levels,” he said. “Silica levels from the quarry will be only a small fraction of this very conservative standard.”

Reuther said the quarry would have air monitors on site with an outside company doing the research and maintenance of the monitors, which they are not required to do.

“Being in Southern California, we have very stringent air quality regulations that we are not allowed to operate outside of,” said Reuther, who mentioned that the quarry had to be permitted by the Southern California Air Quality Management. “Mining is a very regulated industry. We will have our crushers and conveyor belt in buildings with back hoses collecting particulates into bags to be reused in asphalt. The whole site will be paved and swept every day, so our trucks will not be kicking up dust.”

Reuther also stated that the quarry would have a clean truck program, in which 130 of the company’s trucks would be outfitted with clean particulate filters and brand new engines.

“More than likely, 120 of those trucks will be outside company trucks,” said Reuther. “That will meet four percent of the California Air Resources Board’s goal for California and reducing emissions. With these trucks in use, we will actually have a better air quality in the area.”

Robbins also stated that the quarry project would become a tremendous noise problem for the surrounding communities.

“A project of this size is going to have a lot of blasting,” said Robbins. “Not only is it going to cause a problem for our air quality, but in the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR), which is set to go before the Riverside Board of Supervisors, we can see that the quarry would also an unavoidable impact with the noise of blasting. The amount of explosives used is more than double the amount used to knock down the towers in Oklahoma.”

Reuther countered this statement saying that many have “misconceptions” about the amount of blasting that will take place in the Liberty Quarry.

“People have misconceptions because they have Camp Pendleton so close,” she said. “The blasting that they do on base is meant to destroy things during their drills; it’s very different from what we do. Our blasting is very scientific.”

The quarry will be blasting 26 to 28 feet under ground in a “very methodical” manner, with each blast occurring milliseconds after the next, cancelling out blasts through vibrations, stated Reuther.

“At maximum capacity, we would blast twice a day, but it is more likely that we would be blasting once to twice a week,” said Reuther. “That is much like the Rosemary quarry, which blasts once every other week.”

Robbins made it clear that he believes Fallbrook Healthcare District will have a significant influence on the final outcome of the quarry.

“The Riverside board of supervisors will more likely listen to you than they would just a few individuals,” said Robbins.“We don’t want to take a chance that the quarry doesn’t follow the regulations.”

After the presentation, the healthcare board voted unanimously to send a letter of non-support against the quarry.

“We do not need to be convinced when we are discussing pulmonary health,” said Lynette Shumway, board member of the Fallbrook Healthcare District.

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