Especially dangerous asbestos found at state park

With virtually no public notice, the state shut down and reopened a portion of the shoreline at Illinois Beach State Park earlier this month after finding a type of asbestos debris that can be especially harmful to humans.

The closing during Aug. 4-7 occurred after state officials also detected traces of airborne asbestos along a section of beach near where the debris was found, though they contend the readings were low-level and harmless to hikers or beach-goers.

An environmental group that has called for shutting down the state park and its beaches to assess the asbestos threat said the discoveries are troubling and underscore the safety risks that exist at Illinois' most heavily used state park.

"We have a dangerous situation on the beaches at Illinois State Beach Park," said Paul Kakuris, president of the Illinois Dunesland Preservation Society, a 45-year-old group that has monitored asbestos contamination at the park.

The findings were disclosed in an Aug. 4 press release by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. However, the announcement did not appear to reach some Chicago area newspapers, including in Waukegan, and it was not posted on the agency's Web site where press releases are normally compiled.

The release also failed to mention that the asbestos debris was "friable" -- a condition when tiny asbestos particles can become airborne and inhaled -- or that trace amounts of asbestos particles were discovered in the air.

"There was absolutely no intent of hiding this whatsoever," he said. "With this stuff and its history, the DNR was extremely concerned about getting everything out, getting it timely and getting it out correctly. We're doing everything we can."

The asbestos debris took the form of insulation, which agency officials believe is possibly traceable to homes that existed in the area about 25 years ago before being demolished -- and not the nearby Johns-Manville Superfund site, where tons of asbestos debris have been buried.

"If there is ever a determination made by appropriate public health agencies and environmental protection agencies that having that park open is a risk to users, we won't hesitate to shut down that beach, but that has never been done," Furr said. "In fact, the proclamations we've been given have insisted there isn't a public health risk."