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Drop the Rock!

Target:

California Legislature

Sponsored by:

Funny as cancer? The State Rock of California contains asbestos.

We respectfully request that the California legislature repeal government code section 425.2 to remove Serpentine, a toxic form of asbestos ore, as the State Rock of California.

Serpentine contains chrysotile asbestos, a human carcinogen.

Asbestos kills tens of thousands of people every year in the United States, and hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.

California has more asbestos-related deaths than any state in the country and communities such as El Dorado Hills are currently struggling with large-scale asbestos contamination.

Failing to remove Serpentine as the State Rock is an affront to the thousands of Californians who have died or become seriously ill from asbestos.

Removing Serpentine as the State Rock of California is easily achievable and shows commitment to health and the environment.

To learn more about this issue, please visit http://www.phlbi.org/.

We the undersigned respectfully request that the California legislature repeal government code section 425.2 to remove Serpentine, a toxic form of asbestos ore, as the State Rock of California.

This important matter affects the public health and the public image of California. Serpentine contains chrysotile asbestos, a known human carcinogen listed by the EPA. Asbestos has been called the worst public health crisis in the history of this country. The World Health Organization estimates that every year over 100,000 people die worldwide from asbestos cancers.[1] In the US, it is estimated that 10,000 Americans die every year from asbestos-related diseases.[2]

The state of California leads the nation in asbestos-related deaths, which are terminal, excruciating diseases. It was wrong in 1965 for California to choose a toxic killer as the state rock. Today, it's unconscionable.

Thank you for reading our letter of concern. There are numerous health-friendly alternatives to Serpentine for our state rock that would be an effective and attractive symbol for California.

[1] L. Kazan-Allen Asbestos and mesothelioma: Worldwide trends Lung Cancer Volume 49, Supplement 1, July 2005, Pages S3-S8, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=PublicationURL&_tockey=%23TOC%235111%232005%23999509999.8998%23598462%23FLA%23&_cdi=5111&_pubType=J&view=c&_auth=y&_acct=C000059605&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=4423&md5=7c6be58466d2713434a3128728e62281

[2] Environmental Working Group, March 4, 2004, http://www.ewg.org/node/15977

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58
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We signed the "Drop the Rock!" petition!

# 58:

8:00 pm PDT, Mar 9, William Harper, Georgia

# 57:

1:47 pm PST, Feb 8, Margaret Bergin, California
I believe that anything dealing with Asbestos should be banned. I know it is a naturally occurring material, but we definitely shouldn't honor it or allow it to be put into materials we sell or use in daily life. My husband was diagnosed and died from the effects of Asbestos within one year. The disease MESOTHELIOMA caused by exposure to Asbestos.

# 56:

11:10 am PST, Feb 6, Ginger Geronimo, Alabama

# 55:

7:48 pm PST, Jan 31, Mike Something, Illinois

# 54:

9:32 am PST, Jan 29, Name not displayed, Maryland

# 53:

10:14 pm PST, Dec 29, Juniel Worthington, California
In light of the current knowledge about the lethal qualities contained in the current State Rock of California (Serpentine) action should be taken to change the rock to one that properly represents California and its respect for all people.

# 52:

4:31 pm PST, Dec 18, Rory Leos, California

# 51:

7:25 pm PST, Dec 17, Jessica Eldridge, Australia

# 50:

11:55 pm PST, Nov 17, Name not displayed, Wisconsin

# 49:

1:16 am PST, Nov 17, Johnny GILBERT, New Jersey

# 48:

3:14 am PST, Nov 8, Steve Klein, Virginia

# 47:

12:30 pm PST, Nov 7, Adrea Moya, California
Definately drop it. To have it as the state rock just mocks all of those family members that have had somebody they love die from asbestos contamination.

# 46:

10:09 am PST, Nov 7, Jessica Tapia, New Mexico
The state rock shouldn't be something that hurts people.....

# 45:

1:12 am PST, Nov 7, Victoria Thomas, Wyoming

# 44:

10:44 pm PDT, Oct 26, Silky Wyld, Wisconsin

# 43:

7:56 pm PDT, Oct 24, Linda Hughes, Florida

# 42:

1:00 pm PDT, Oct 21, Carol Hippie, California

# 41:

5:19 am PDT, Oct 18, Cristina Popa, Romania

# 40:

11:29 am PDT, Oct 16, Kendall Victor, California

# 39:

10:34 am PDT, Oct 16, Shelley Kessler, California

# 38:

7:36 am PDT, Oct 16, Zaina Escandon Francis, Guatemala

# 37:

5:54 pm PDT, Oct 15, A.K. Scott, California
For California to continue using serpentine is shameful.

# 36:

7:00 pm PDT, Oct 12, Alexandra Fisenko, Michigan

# 35:

6:42 am PDT, Oct 12, Alexandra Nett, South Africa

# 34:

5:15 pm PDT, Oct 11, David Dunkleberger, Pennsylvania

# 33:

11:47 pm PDT, Oct 10, Tania Naim, Lebanon

# 32:

4:05 pm PDT, Oct 8, Polly Odyssey, Missouri

# 31:

6:51 am PDT, Oct 8, Michael Rabasco, Minnesota

# 30:

10:08 am PDT, Oct 7, Hazel Matich, Illinois

# 29:

3:05 pm PDT, Oct 6, * Zentura, Wyoming

# 28:

10:25 am PDT, Oct 6, Nicky Elizabeth, Maine

# 27:

3:02 am PDT, Oct 6, Catherine Smalley, United Kingdom

# 26:

7:33 am PDT, Oct 5, Trey Jones, California

# 25:

4:26 pm PDT, Sep 30, Denise Aberle, California
California has other natural minerals that would send a much stronger message about our beautiful state. Let's remove Serpentine as the state rock.

# 24:

4:40 am PDT, Sep 27, Terry Lynch, Indiana

# 23:

5:42 pm PDT, Sep 26, Michelle Zygielbaum, California

# 22:

5:25 pm PDT, Sep 26, Gary Schiller, California

# 21:

2:49 pm PDT, Sep 26, Warren Grundfest, California
Yes. Serpentine contains not only asbestos but high levels of heavy metals. We should choose a better symbol for the state of CA. While serpentine leads to the formation of important geologic features, a different choice would better reflect the state's commitment to environmental health.

# 20:

1:38 pm PDT, Sep 26, Suzanne Caron, California

# 19:

1:18 pm PDT, Sep 26, Name not displayed, California

# 18:

10:56 am PDT, Sep 26, John Caron, California

# 17:

10:42 am PDT, Sep 26, Dongmei Hou, California

# 16:

10:37 am PDT, Sep 26, Robert Cameron, California

# 15:

7:23 am PDT, Sep 26, Barbara Harris, California
California's symbols should represent health, not illness.

# 14:

2:27 pm PDT, Sep 25, Robert Dillman, California

# 13:

9:54 am PDT, Sep 25, Raja Mahidhara, California

# 12:

9:20 pm PDT, Sep 24, Barrett Brown, California

# 11:

9:19 pm PDT, Sep 24, David Greenberg, California

# 10:

6:04 pm PDT, Sep 24, Nikos Hontzeas, California

# 9:

4:59 pm PDT, Sep 24, Roger Worthington, California
Can we please choose a rock that doesnt kill 10,000 innocent americans every year? Stuff the serpent back in its hole!

# 8:

4:38 pm PDT, Sep 24, John Daugherty, California

# 7:

4:37 pm PDT, Sep 24, Seth Davidson, California
The state rock should be banned immediately.

# 6:

4:35 pm PDT, Sep 24, Ann Worthington, California

# 5:

4:32 pm PDT, Sep 24, Lynn Collins, California
Yes, why should California run ad campaigns against smoking being toxic but continue to have a state rock that is so harmful it can't even be brought into the schools.

# 4:

4:29 pm PDT, Sep 24, Cindy Ribeiro, California

# 3:

4:28 pm PDT, Sep 24, Analise Torrez, California

# 2:

4:02 pm PDT, Sep 24, Name not displayed, California

# 1:

3:35 pm PDT, Sep 24, Jessica Like, California

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