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"slug": "richmond-residents-living-near-refinery-seek-clarity-after-cancer-risk-report",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>East Bay residents wanted answers this week, after a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2001777/residents-near-chevrons-richmond-refinery-face-higher-risk-of-cancer-air-district-says\">major new report\u003c/a> by air regulators found that people living close to the Chevron Richmond Refinery face an elevated risk of developing cancer over a lifetime, and other illnesses from short exposure to excess emissions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air District released the preliminary health \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/ab617-community-health/facility-risk-reduction/hra-facilities/fid10/fid10_preliminary-hra.pdf\">risk assessment\u003c/a> on Aug. 21. Most of the cancer risk came from toxic air contaminants that seeped from pipe fittings and storage tanks throughout the petroleum refinery, according to the report. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The model analysis examined the highest cancer risk over a lifetime posed by exposure to facility emissions and found it to be more than three times higher than its threshold for action.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The regulator requires facilities to take action to reduce the risk if it equals or exceeds 10 in a million. The Air District found the Richmond refinery exposure to be 37 chances in a million.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/017_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12000181\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/017_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/017_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/017_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/017_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/017_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/017_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chevron Refinery, a petroleum refinery, can be seen from Point Richmond on Jan. 13, 2022. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At a public hearing, Richmond City Councilmember Sue Wilson said residents have been confused by the technical analysis and asked air officials to clarify what the report means for the constituents in her district.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“ I appreciate that you’ve been trying to frame it in a way that we can understand,” Wilson said. “But I still don’t understand what it means to have a risk action level of 37 in a million.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That was the question of the evening, repeated by many and for which the answer was a highly technical explanation of the limits of the study, which frustrated people who wanted to know the cumulative impacts from all refinery emissions in Richmond.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air District findings measured risk levels over 30 years for residents, workers and students who face varying degrees of exposure to toxic emissions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re not here talking about multiple types of pollution, sulfur dioxide, nitrous, particulate matter in general from multiple sources,” said Dr. Rohan Radhakrishna, health officer for the Air District. “This is narrow, but it’s still significant.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Radhakrishna said it might help to consider how data from the Institute of Highway Safety is used to measure the risk of dying from driving.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1249\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11612980\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut-800x520.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut-1020x664.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut-1180x768.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut-960x625.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut-240x156.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut-375x244.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut-520x338.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Heat rises from stacks at the Chevron refinery in Richmond, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The risk of dying in a motor vehicle accident for driving for a year is 37 in a million,” Radhakrishna said, “which is the same for the risk presented by cancer.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Air District is empowered to conduct assessments to measure health risks posed by high-impact industrial facilities like Chevron’s Richmond refinery \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/rules-and-compliance/rules/regulation-11-rule-18-reduction-of-risk-from-air-toxic-emissions-at-existing-facilities\">under regulations\u003c/a> it adopted in 2017 and modified in June.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The rules aim to get the Richmond facility and others to reduce emissions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For community members who’ve spent decades trying to combat toxic emissions at the Chevron refinery, the assessment is the first scientific study to measure the risks from air pollution from the facility. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“ This finding provides data for what our community has known for decades: that Chevron is polluting our community and making people sick,” said Scott Nanos-Luz, the Richmond organizer for the \u003ca href=\"https://apen4ej.org/our-work/\">Asian Pacific Environmental Network\u003c/a>. “‘This is the science of it. This is the proof.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Risk assessment data\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The risk assessment does not include data from major incidents, such as the 2012 explosion and fire that sent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11666438/from-shelter-in-place-to-settlement-in-place\">15,000 nearby residents \u003c/a>to seek medical treatment. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Instead, its purpose is to identify routine emissions that occur over the long term and can be prevented going forward, said Ariana Husain, a manager in the Air District’s Engineering Division who conducted the health risk assessment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Air District identified ten specific sources of toxic emissions, including storage tanks, pipe fittings, valves and a wastewater treatment plan.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They’re looking at ten sources within one facility that have a few toxic air contaminants that can raise your cancer risk,” Radhakrishna said. “It doesn’t go beyond that, so it doesn’t link to correlation or causation to other health conditions.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One contaminant regulators identified is benzo[a]pyrene, which has been proven to cause cancer and can affect the developmental system, the reproductive system and the immune system. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Benzene, the other toxic contaminant identified as over the regulatory limit for one-hour exposure, can irritate the respiratory system.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Community participation\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The provisional health risk assessment is open for public comment until Nov. 23 at 5 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Air District is seeking input from Richmond residents, scientists and experts and said it will be working closely with city officials to hold additional informational sessions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“ What we’re looking for during public comment period would be, are we missing things? Do you have input on the thresholds?” Radhakrishna said. “Are there sources that we should be considering, other methodologies that you’d like to mention? Did you double-check our results and come up with something higher or lower?” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Caitlin Powell, a spokesperson for the Chevron Richmond Refinery, said the company plans to provide technical comments and updated information to the air district.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/Chevron032714-JoshC-5177_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12054074\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/Chevron032714-JoshC-5177_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/Chevron032714-JoshC-5177_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/Chevron032714-JoshC-5177_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chevron Refinery in Richmond, California, on March 27, 2014. (Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“A health-protective assessment should also be accurate,” Powell said in a statement, adding that the company has identified outdated equipment and assumptions the Air District made about the Richmond refinery “that do not reflect actual operations.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Air District has acknowledged that additional data may increase or decrease the final risk assessment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“ We’ll review all comments, and any new data will then be verified,” Husain said. “If this data is found to affect the health risk assessment, we will be revising the health risk assessment.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Chevron is the first facility for which the Air District conducted a health risk assessment, but according to a list on the agency website, regulators plan to look at the Martinez Refining Company’s facility in Martinez and the now-shuttered Valero refinery in Benicia. The agency has prioritized industrial sites with the greatest emissions. Refineries make up the \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/ab617-community-health/facility-risk-reduction/hra-facilities/rule1118_phase_i_facilities-pdf.pdf?rev=c9f015471e23486c9cfbe0154821fac8&sc_lang=en\">top four \u003c/a>facilities on the list.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>East Bay residents wanted answers this week, after a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2001777/residents-near-chevrons-richmond-refinery-face-higher-risk-of-cancer-air-district-says\">major new report\u003c/a> by air regulators found that people living close to the Chevron Richmond Refinery face an elevated risk of developing cancer over a lifetime, and other illnesses from short exposure to excess emissions.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>East Bay residents wanted answers this week, after a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2001777/residents-near-chevrons-richmond-refinery-face-higher-risk-of-cancer-air-district-says\">major new report\u003c/a> by air regulators found that people living close to the Chevron Richmond Refinery face an elevated risk of developing cancer over a lifetime, and other illnesses from short exposure to excess emissions.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air District released the preliminary health \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/ab617-community-health/facility-risk-reduction/hra-facilities/fid10/fid10_preliminary-hra.pdf\">risk assessment\u003c/a> on Aug. 21. Most of the cancer risk came from toxic air contaminants that seeped from pipe fittings and storage tanks throughout the petroleum refinery, according to the report. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air District released the preliminary health \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/ab617-community-health/facility-risk-reduction/hra-facilities/fid10/fid10_preliminary-hra.pdf\">risk assessment\u003c/a> on Aug. 21. Most of the cancer risk came from toxic air contaminants that seeped from pipe fittings and storage tanks throughout the petroleum refinery, according to the report. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The model analysis examined the highest cancer risk over a lifetime posed by exposure to facility emissions and found it to be more than three times higher than its threshold for action.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The model analysis examined the highest cancer risk over a lifetime posed by exposure to facility emissions and found it to be more than three times higher than its threshold for action.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The regulator requires facilities to take action to reduce the risk if it equals or exceeds 10 in a million. The Air District found the Richmond refinery exposure to be 37 chances in a million.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The regulator requires facilities to take action to reduce the risk if it equals or exceeds 10 in a million. The Air District found the Richmond refinery exposure to be 37 chances in a million.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/017_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12000181\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/017_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/017_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/017_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/017_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/017_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/017_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chevron Refinery, a petroleum refinery, can be seen from Point Richmond on Jan. 13, 2022.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/017_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12000181\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chevron Refinery, a petroleum refinery, can be seen from Point Richmond on Jan. 13, 2022.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At a public hearing, Richmond City Councilmember Sue Wilson said residents have been confused by the technical analysis and asked air officials to clarify what the report means for the constituents in her district.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>At a public hearing, Richmond City Councilmember Sue Wilson said residents have been confused by the technical analysis and asked air officials to clarify what the report means for the constituents in her district.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“ I appreciate that you’ve been trying to frame it in a way that we can understand,” Wilson said. “But I still don’t understand what it means to have a risk action level of 37 in a million.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“ I appreciate that you’ve been trying to frame it in a way that we can understand,” Wilson said. “But I still don’t understand what it means to have a risk action level of 37 in a million.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That was the question of the evening, repeated by many and for which the answer was a highly technical explanation of the limits of the study, which frustrated people who wanted to know the cumulative impacts from all refinery emissions in Richmond.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That was the question of the evening, repeated by many and for which the answer was a highly technical explanation of the limits of the study, which frustrated people who wanted to know the cumulative impacts from all refinery emissions in Richmond.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air District findings measured risk levels over 30 years for residents, workers and students who face varying degrees of exposure to toxic emissions.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air District findings measured risk levels over 30 years for residents, workers and students who face varying degrees of exposure to toxic emissions.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’re not here talking about multiple types of pollution, sulfur dioxide, nitrous, particulate matter in general from multiple sources,” said Dr. Rohan Radhakrishna, health officer for the Air District. “This is narrow, but it’s still significant.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We’re not here talking about multiple types of pollution, sulfur dioxide, nitrous, particulate matter in general from multiple sources,” said Dr. Rohan Radhakrishna, health officer for the Air District. “This is narrow, but it’s still significant.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Radhakrishna said it might help to consider how data from the Institute of Highway Safety is used to measure the risk of dying from driving.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Radhakrishna said it might help to consider how data from the Institute of Highway Safety is used to measure the risk of dying from driving.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11612980\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut-800x520.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut-1020x664.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut-1180x768.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut-960x625.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut-240x156.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut-375x244.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut-520x338.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Heat rises from stacks at the Chevron refinery in Richmond, California. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11612980\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Heat rises from stacks at the Chevron refinery in Richmond, California. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The risk of dying in a motor vehicle accident for driving for a year is 37 in a million,” Radhakrishna said, “which is the same for the risk presented by cancer.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The risk of dying in a motor vehicle accident for driving for a year is 37 in a million,” Radhakrishna said, “which is the same for the risk presented by cancer.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Air District is empowered to conduct assessments to measure health risks posed by high-impact industrial facilities like Chevron’s Richmond refinery \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/rules-and-compliance/rules/regulation-11-rule-18-reduction-of-risk-from-air-toxic-emissions-at-existing-facilities\">under regulations\u003c/a> it adopted in 2017 and modified in June.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The rules aim to get the Richmond facility and others to reduce emissions.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Air District is empowered to conduct assessments to measure health risks posed by high-impact industrial facilities like Chevron’s Richmond refinery \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/rules-and-compliance/rules/regulation-11-rule-18-reduction-of-risk-from-air-toxic-emissions-at-existing-facilities\">under regulations\u003c/a> it adopted in 2017 and modified in June.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The rules aim to get the Richmond facility and others to reduce emissions.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For community members who’ve spent decades trying to combat toxic emissions at the Chevron refinery, the assessment is the first scientific study to measure the risks from air pollution from the facility. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For community members who’ve spent decades trying to combat toxic emissions at the Chevron refinery, the assessment is the first scientific study to measure the risks from air pollution from the facility. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“ This finding provides data for what our community has known for decades: that Chevron is polluting our community and making people sick,” said Scott Nanos-Luz, the Richmond organizer for the \u003ca href=\"https://apen4ej.org/our-work/\">Asian Pacific Environmental Network\u003c/a>. “‘This is the science of it. This is the proof.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“ This finding provides data for what our community has known for decades: that Chevron is polluting our community and making people sick,” said Scott Nanos-Luz, the Richmond organizer for the \u003ca href=\"https://apen4ej.org/our-work/\">Asian Pacific Environmental Network\u003c/a>. “‘This is the science of it. This is the proof.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The risk assessment does not include data from major incidents, such as the 2012 explosion and fire that sent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11666438/from-shelter-in-place-to-settlement-in-place\">15,000 nearby residents \u003c/a>to seek medical treatment. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The risk assessment does not include data from major incidents, such as the 2012 explosion and fire that sent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11666438/from-shelter-in-place-to-settlement-in-place\">15,000 nearby residents \u003c/a>to seek medical treatment. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Instead, its purpose is to identify routine emissions that occur over the long term and can be prevented going forward, said Ariana Husain, a manager in the Air District’s Engineering Division who conducted the health risk assessment.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Instead, its purpose is to identify routine emissions that occur over the long term and can be prevented going forward, said Ariana Husain, a manager in the Air District’s Engineering Division who conducted the health risk assessment.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Air District identified ten specific sources of toxic emissions, including storage tanks, pipe fittings, valves and a wastewater treatment plan.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Air District identified ten specific sources of toxic emissions, including storage tanks, pipe fittings, valves and a wastewater treatment plan.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“They’re looking at ten sources within one facility that have a few toxic air contaminants that can raise your cancer risk,” Radhakrishna said. “It doesn’t go beyond that, so it doesn’t link to correlation or causation to other health conditions.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“They’re looking at ten sources within one facility that have a few toxic air contaminants that can raise your cancer risk,” Radhakrishna said. “It doesn’t go beyond that, so it doesn’t link to correlation or causation to other health conditions.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One contaminant regulators identified is benzo[a]pyrene, which has been proven to cause cancer and can affect the developmental system, the reproductive system and the immune system. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>One contaminant regulators identified is benzo[a]pyrene, which has been proven to cause cancer and can affect the developmental system, the reproductive system and the immune system. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Benzene, the other toxic contaminant identified as over the regulatory limit for one-hour exposure, can irritate the respiratory system.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Benzene, the other toxic contaminant identified as over the regulatory limit for one-hour exposure, can irritate the respiratory system.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The provisional health risk assessment is open for public comment until Nov. 23 at 5 p.m.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The provisional health risk assessment is open for public comment until Nov. 23 at 5 p.m.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Air District is seeking input from Richmond residents, scientists and experts and said it will be working closely with city officials to hold additional informational sessions.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“ What we’re looking for during public comment period would be, are we missing things? Do you have input on the thresholds?” Radhakrishna said. “Are there sources that we should be considering, other methodologies that you’d like to mention? Did you double-check our results and come up with something higher or lower?” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“ What we’re looking for during public comment period would be, are we missing things? Do you have input on the thresholds?” Radhakrishna said. “Are there sources that we should be considering, other methodologies that you’d like to mention? Did you double-check our results and come up with something higher or lower?” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Caitlin Powell, a spokesperson for the Chevron Richmond Refinery, said the company plans to provide technical comments and updated information to the air district.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Caitlin Powell, a spokesperson for the Chevron Richmond Refinery, said the company plans to provide technical comments and updated information to the air district.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/Chevron032714-JoshC-5177_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12054074\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/Chevron032714-JoshC-5177_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/Chevron032714-JoshC-5177_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/Chevron032714-JoshC-5177_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chevron Refinery in Richmond, California, on March 27, 2014.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/Chevron032714-JoshC-5177_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12054074\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chevron Refinery in Richmond, California, on March 27, 2014.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“A health-protective assessment should also be accurate,” Powell said in a statement, adding that the company has identified outdated equipment and assumptions the Air District made about the Richmond refinery “that do not reflect actual operations.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“A health-protective assessment should also be accurate,” Powell said in a statement, adding that the company has identified outdated equipment and assumptions the Air District made about the Richmond refinery “that do not reflect actual operations.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Air District has acknowledged that additional data may increase or decrease the final risk assessment.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Air District has acknowledged that additional data may increase or decrease the final risk assessment.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“ We’ll review all comments, and any new data will then be verified,” Husain said. “If this data is found to affect the health risk assessment, we will be revising the health risk assessment.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“ We’ll review all comments, and any new data will then be verified,” Husain said. “If this data is found to affect the health risk assessment, we will be revising the health risk assessment.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Chevron is the first facility for which the Air District conducted a health risk assessment, but according to a list on the agency website, regulators plan to look at the Martinez Refining Company’s facility in Martinez and the now-shuttered Valero refinery in Benicia. The agency has prioritized industrial sites with the greatest emissions. Refineries make up the \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/ab617-community-health/facility-risk-reduction/hra-facilities/rule1118_phase_i_facilities-pdf.pdf?rev=c9f015471e23486c9cfbe0154821fac8&sc_lang=en\">top four \u003c/a>facilities on the list.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Chevron is the first facility for which the Air District conducted a health risk assessment, but according to a list on the agency website, regulators plan to look at the Martinez Refining Company’s facility in Martinez and the now-shuttered Valero refinery in Benicia. The agency has prioritized industrial sites with the greatest emissions. Refineries make up the \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/ab617-community-health/facility-risk-reduction/hra-facilities/rule1118_phase_i_facilities-pdf.pdf?rev=c9f015471e23486c9cfbe0154821fac8&sc_lang=en\">top four \u003c/a>facilities on the list.\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Air District officials on Monday said their finding that people living close to Chevron’s Richmond Refinery face an elevated cancer risk was \"significant\" and tried to explain the modeling study.",
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"title": "Richmond Residents Living Near Refinery Seek Clarity After Cancer Risk Report | KQED",
"description": "Air District officials on Monday said their finding that people living close to Chevron’s Richmond Refinery face an elevated cancer risk was "significant" and tried to explain the modeling study.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>East Bay residents wanted answers this week, after a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2001777/residents-near-chevrons-richmond-refinery-face-higher-risk-of-cancer-air-district-says\">major new report\u003c/a> by air regulators found that people living close to the Chevron Richmond Refinery face an elevated risk of developing cancer over a lifetime, and other illnesses from short exposure to excess emissions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air District released the preliminary health \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/ab617-community-health/facility-risk-reduction/hra-facilities/fid10/fid10_preliminary-hra.pdf\">risk assessment\u003c/a> on Aug. 21. Most of the cancer risk came from toxic air contaminants that seeped from pipe fittings and storage tanks throughout the petroleum refinery, according to the report. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The model analysis examined the highest cancer risk over a lifetime posed by exposure to facility emissions and found it to be more than three times higher than its threshold for action.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The regulator requires facilities to take action to reduce the risk if it equals or exceeds 10 in a million. The Air District found the Richmond refinery exposure to be 37 chances in a million.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/017_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12000181\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/017_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/017_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/017_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/017_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/017_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/017_Richmond_ChevronRefinery_01132022_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chevron Refinery, a petroleum refinery, can be seen from Point Richmond on Jan. 13, 2022. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At a public hearing, Richmond City Councilmember Sue Wilson said residents have been confused by the technical analysis and asked air officials to clarify what the report means for the constituents in her district.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“ I appreciate that you’ve been trying to frame it in a way that we can understand,” Wilson said. “But I still don’t understand what it means to have a risk action level of 37 in a million.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That was the question of the evening, repeated by many and for which the answer was a highly technical explanation of the limits of the study, which frustrated people who wanted to know the cumulative impacts from all refinery emissions in Richmond.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Bay Area Air District findings measured risk levels over 30 years for residents, workers and students who face varying degrees of exposure to toxic emissions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re not here talking about multiple types of pollution, sulfur dioxide, nitrous, particulate matter in general from multiple sources,” said Dr. Rohan Radhakrishna, health officer for the Air District. “This is narrow, but it’s still significant.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Radhakrishna said it might help to consider how data from the Institute of Highway Safety is used to measure the risk of dying from driving.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1249\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11612980\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut-800x520.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut-1020x664.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut-1180x768.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut-960x625.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut-240x156.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut-375x244.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/RS26276_GettyImages-108323682-qut-520x338.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Heat rises from stacks at the Chevron refinery in Richmond, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The risk of dying in a motor vehicle accident for driving for a year is 37 in a million,” Radhakrishna said, “which is the same for the risk presented by cancer.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Air District is empowered to conduct assessments to measure health risks posed by high-impact industrial facilities like Chevron’s Richmond refinery \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/rules-and-compliance/rules/regulation-11-rule-18-reduction-of-risk-from-air-toxic-emissions-at-existing-facilities\">under regulations\u003c/a> it adopted in 2017 and modified in June.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The rules aim to get the Richmond facility and others to reduce emissions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For community members who’ve spent decades trying to combat toxic emissions at the Chevron refinery, the assessment is the first scientific study to measure the risks from air pollution from the facility. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“ This finding provides data for what our community has known for decades: that Chevron is polluting our community and making people sick,” said Scott Nanos-Luz, the Richmond organizer for the \u003ca href=\"https://apen4ej.org/our-work/\">Asian Pacific Environmental Network\u003c/a>. “‘This is the science of it. This is the proof.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Risk assessment data\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The risk assessment does not include data from major incidents, such as the 2012 explosion and fire that sent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11666438/from-shelter-in-place-to-settlement-in-place\">15,000 nearby residents \u003c/a>to seek medical treatment. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Instead, its purpose is to identify routine emissions that occur over the long term and can be prevented going forward, said Ariana Husain, a manager in the Air District’s Engineering Division who conducted the health risk assessment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Air District identified ten specific sources of toxic emissions, including storage tanks, pipe fittings, valves and a wastewater treatment plan.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They’re looking at ten sources within one facility that have a few toxic air contaminants that can raise your cancer risk,” Radhakrishna said. “It doesn’t go beyond that, so it doesn’t link to correlation or causation to other health conditions.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One contaminant regulators identified is benzo[a]pyrene, which has been proven to cause cancer and can affect the developmental system, the reproductive system and the immune system. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Benzene, the other toxic contaminant identified as over the regulatory limit for one-hour exposure, can irritate the respiratory system.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Community participation\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The provisional health risk assessment is open for public comment until Nov. 23 at 5 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Air District is seeking input from Richmond residents, scientists and experts and said it will be working closely with city officials to hold additional informational sessions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“ What we’re looking for during public comment period would be, are we missing things? Do you have input on the thresholds?” Radhakrishna said. “Are there sources that we should be considering, other methodologies that you’d like to mention? Did you double-check our results and come up with something higher or lower?” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Caitlin Powell, a spokesperson for the Chevron Richmond Refinery, said the company plans to provide technical comments and updated information to the air district.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/Chevron032714-JoshC-5177_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12054074\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/Chevron032714-JoshC-5177_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/Chevron032714-JoshC-5177_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/Chevron032714-JoshC-5177_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Chevron Refinery in Richmond, California, on March 27, 2014. (Josh Cassidy/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“A health-protective assessment should also be accurate,” Powell said in a statement, adding that the company has identified outdated equipment and assumptions the Air District made about the Richmond refinery “that do not reflect actual operations.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Air District has acknowledged that additional data may increase or decrease the final risk assessment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“ We’ll review all comments, and any new data will then be verified,” Husain said. “If this data is found to affect the health risk assessment, we will be revising the health risk assessment.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Chevron is the first facility for which the Air District conducted a health risk assessment, but according to a list on the agency website, regulators plan to look at the Martinez Refining Company’s facility in Martinez and the now-shuttered Valero refinery in Benicia. The agency has prioritized industrial sites with the greatest emissions. Refineries make up the \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/ab617-community-health/facility-risk-reduction/hra-facilities/rule1118_phase_i_facilities-pdf.pdf?rev=c9f015471e23486c9cfbe0154821fac8&sc_lang=en\">top four \u003c/a>facilities on the list.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "california-could-join-handful-of-states-that-cover-cancer-hair-loss-treatment",
"title": "California Could Join Handful of States That Cover Cancer Hair-Loss Treatment",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a> mom Anna Karrer Manley remembers one of the hardest conversations she had two years ago.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She was 45 and had recently learned about her breast cancer diagnosis. She needed to share the news with her two kids, then ages 6 and 11, to prepare them for her battle with the disease — six rounds of chemotherapy and their most recognizable side effect, hair loss. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“My son had just started a new school in sixth grade, and he sheepishly asked me, ‘So, Mom, are you still gonna come to pick up?’” Karrer Manley said. “[My daughter] just cried because she didn’t want Mommy to change\u003cem>.\u003c/em>”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Soon after her diagnosis, Karrer Manley joined a breast cancer patient support group, \u003ca href=\"https://bayareayoungsurvivors.org/\">Bay Area Young Survivors\u003c/a>, where she learned about scalp cooling, an FDA-cleared treatment that helps patients keep their hair through cooling caps, which can be worn before, during and after chemotherapy infusions. The technology helps restrict blood flow and reduce the amount of medication that reaches the hair follicles. The vast majority of people who use scalp cooling, like Karrer Manley, are battling breast cancer, according to \u003ca href=\"https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/JCO.2021.39.15_suppl.e18739\">research\u003c/a> presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology in 2021. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-46-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099645\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-46-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-46-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-46-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ines (from left), Stacey Manley, Etienne, Anna Karrer Manley, and their chemo puppy, Asa, at their home in Oakland on Sept. 13, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-5 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12099642\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-27-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099642\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-27-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-27-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-27-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Anna Karrer Manley shows strands of her hair that grew back darker and curlier after falling out during chemotherapy. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12099641\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-26-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099641\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-26-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-26-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-26-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Anna Karrer Manley holds a photo of herself wearing a cold cap at her home in Oakland on Sept. 13, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The technology wasn’t covered through insurance, but Karrer Manley said she and her husband scraped around $5,000 to pay for the treatment. (She returned to work part time during treatment.) The cooling caps allowed her to keep 70% of her hair, she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Her vibrant complexion and beyond-shoulder-length hair belie the difficult journey of survival — and advocacy — she’s undertaken. Karrer Manley has since joined survivors, medical professionals and public health advocates calling for the passage of \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1682\">AB 1682\u003c/a>, which is currently on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, that aims to make automated mechanical scalp-cooling devices more accessible, beginning in 2027.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“To move about the world during chemo treatment with your hair and not everybody realizing what’s going on with you or staring at you, I think that’s really meaningful and important, and it has such an impact on your mental health,” said Karrer Manley, sitting at her dining room table alongside Asa, the “chemo puppy” she adopted for treatment support. “You know, cancer takes so much from you, it really robs so much of you, but at least I had a little bit of hair.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At a June \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260ab1682\">hearing\u003c/a> in Sacramento, the bill’s co-author Assemblymember Gregg Hart of Santa Barbara said the measure – which resembles \u003ca href=\"https://rapunzelproject.org/\">similar\u003c/a> laws in five states (Connecticut, Louisiana, Maryland, New York and West Virginia) — would preserve “dignity, confidence and quality of life” for Californians fighting cancer, regardless of their ability to pay.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The amended proposal — which state legislators passed unanimously — applies to large group insurers and Medi-Cal plans.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In April, the California Health Benefits Review Program, a nonpartisan \u003ca href=\"https://www.chbrp.org/about\">group\u003c/a> tasked with responding to the state Legislature’s request for independent review of all proposed bills related to health benefits, reviewed an earlier, broader draft of AB 1682. The original legislation would have applied to \u003cem>all\u003c/em> state-regulated health insurance, but would have resulted in 680 additional enrollees receiving scalp cooling, for an additional $4 million in annual premiums paid by employers and enrollees.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Janet Coffman, a member of the benefits review program and a health policy expert with UCSF, said the technology has a relatively small fiscal impact (unlike, for example, proposed insurance \u003ca href=\"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Wellness/halle-berry-criticizes-gov-gavin-newsom-devaluing-women/story?id=128104843\">mandates\u003c/a> for pre- and postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy that Newsom vetoed in 2025, calling it “too far-reaching”).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s only for people who are actively undergoing cancer treatment. And they’re really only used with a subset of cancers,” Coffman said. “The marginal cost is pretty small.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-57-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099646\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-57-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-57-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-57-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Anna Karrer Manley (center) with her children Etienne (left) and Ines (right) at their home in Oakland on Sept. 13, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-6 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12099647\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-69-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099647\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-69-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-69-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-69-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Anna Karrer Manley walks her dog, Asa, whom she got while she was undergoing chemotherapy, near her home in Oakland on Sept. 13, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12099639\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-19-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099639\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-19-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-19-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-19-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cookbooks, including The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen: Nourishing, Big-Flavor Recipes for Cancer Treatment and Recovery, in Anna Karrer Manley’s home in Oakland on Sept. 13, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The insurance lobby group California Association of Health Plans has opposed the measure, arguing that Californians are facing a health care affordability crisis, citing a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2026/06/california-health-tax-medi-cal-premiums/\">health tax redesign\u003c/a> recently approved by the governor that the California Medical Association, a physician advocacy group, has \u003ca href=\"https://www.cmadocs.org/newsroom/news/view/cma-warns-2026-27-state-budget-will-increase-health-insurance-costs\">warned\u003c/a> could pass through to consumers in the form of higher premiums.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“At the same time, six additional health care mandates, including AB 1682, have been sent to the governor for his signature that will altogether increase premiums by more than $170 million, piling on even more health care costs for working families across the state,” the CAHP said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The governor’s office declined to comment on bills pending action from Newsom by a Sept. 30 deadline. He is no stranger to the disease, as he has previously \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/02/04/gavin-newsom-assisted-suicide\">spoken\u003c/a> about being with his mother during her assisted suicide in 2002 after her yearslong battle with breast cancer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Karrer Manley hopes that he will advocate for supportive cancer care for people who otherwise cannot afford it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There are just too many people impacted by cancer, and yet the fiscal impact is so small,” she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She was 45 and had recently learned about her breast cancer diagnosis. She needed to share the news with her two kids, then ages 6 and 11, to prepare them for her battle with the disease — six rounds of chemotherapy and their most recognizable side effect, hair loss. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“My son had just started a new school in sixth grade, and he sheepishly asked me, ‘So, Mom, are you still gonna come to pick up?’” Karrer Manley said. “[My daughter] just cried because she didn’t want Mommy to change\u003cem>.\u003c/em>”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Soon after her diagnosis, Karrer Manley joined a breast cancer patient support group, \u003ca href=\"https://bayareayoungsurvivors.org/\">Bay Area Young Survivors\u003c/a>, where she learned about scalp cooling, an FDA-cleared treatment that helps patients keep their hair through cooling caps, which can be worn before, during and after chemotherapy infusions. The technology helps restrict blood flow and reduce the amount of medication that reaches the hair follicles. The vast majority of people who use scalp cooling, like Karrer Manley, are battling breast cancer, according to \u003ca href=\"https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/JCO.2021.39.15_suppl.e18739\">research\u003c/a> presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology in 2021. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Her vibrant complexion and beyond-shoulder-length hair belie the difficult journey of survival — and advocacy — she’s undertaken. Karrer Manley has since joined survivors, medical professionals and public health advocates calling for the passage of \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1682\">AB 1682\u003c/a>, which is currently on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, that aims to make automated mechanical scalp-cooling devices more accessible, beginning in 2027.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“To move about the world during chemo treatment with your hair and not everybody realizing what’s going on with you or staring at you, I think that’s really meaningful and important, and it has such an impact on your mental health,” said Karrer Manley, sitting at her dining room table alongside Asa, the “chemo puppy” she adopted for treatment support. “You know, cancer takes so much from you, it really robs so much of you, but at least I had a little bit of hair.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At a June \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260ab1682\">hearing\u003c/a> in Sacramento, the bill’s co-author Assemblymember Gregg Hart of Santa Barbara said the measure – which resembles \u003ca href=\"https://rapunzelproject.org/\">similar\u003c/a> laws in five states (Connecticut, Louisiana, Maryland, New York and West Virginia) — would preserve “dignity, confidence and quality of life” for Californians fighting cancer, regardless of their ability to pay.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The amended proposal — which state legislators passed unanimously — applies to large group insurers and Medi-Cal plans.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In April, the California Health Benefits Review Program, a nonpartisan \u003ca href=\"https://www.chbrp.org/about\">group\u003c/a> tasked with responding to the state Legislature’s request for independent review of all proposed bills related to health benefits, reviewed an earlier, broader draft of AB 1682. The original legislation would have applied to \u003cem>all\u003c/em> state-regulated health insurance, but would have resulted in 680 additional enrollees receiving scalp cooling, for an additional $4 million in annual premiums paid by employers and enrollees.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In April, the California Health Benefits Review Program, a nonpartisan \u003ca href=\"https://www.chbrp.org/about\">group\u003c/a> tasked with responding to the state Legislature’s request for independent review of all proposed bills related to health benefits, reviewed an earlier, broader draft of AB 1682. The original legislation would have applied to \u003cem>all\u003c/em> state-regulated health insurance, but would have resulted in 680 additional enrollees receiving scalp cooling, for an additional $4 million in annual premiums paid by employers and enrollees.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Janet Coffman, a member of the benefits review program and a health policy expert with UCSF, said the technology has a relatively small fiscal impact (unlike, for example, proposed insurance \u003ca href=\"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Wellness/halle-berry-criticizes-gov-gavin-newsom-devaluing-women/story?id=128104843\">mandates\u003c/a> for pre- and postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy that Newsom vetoed in 2025, calling it “too far-reaching”).\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Janet Coffman, a member of the benefits review program and a health policy expert with UCSF, said the technology has a relatively small fiscal impact (unlike, for example, proposed insurance \u003ca href=\"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Wellness/halle-berry-criticizes-gov-gavin-newsom-devaluing-women/story?id=128104843\">mandates\u003c/a> for pre- and postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy that Newsom vetoed in 2025, calling it “too far-reaching”).\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The insurance lobby group California Association of Health Plans has opposed the measure, arguing that Californians are facing a health care affordability crisis, citing a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2026/06/california-health-tax-medi-cal-premiums/\">health tax redesign\u003c/a> recently approved by the governor that the California Medical Association, a physician advocacy group, has \u003ca href=\"https://www.cmadocs.org/newsroom/news/view/cma-warns-2026-27-state-budget-will-increase-health-insurance-costs\">warned\u003c/a> could pass through to consumers in the form of higher premiums.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“At the same time, six additional health care mandates, including AB 1682, have been sent to the governor for his signature that will altogether increase premiums by more than $170 million, piling on even more health care costs for working families across the state,” the CAHP said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The governor’s office declined to comment on bills pending action from Newsom by a Sept. 30 deadline. He is no stranger to the disease, as he has previously \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/02/04/gavin-newsom-assisted-suicide\">spoken\u003c/a> about being with his mother during her assisted suicide in 2002 after her yearslong battle with breast cancer.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Karrer Manley hopes that he will advocate for supportive cancer care for people who otherwise cannot afford it. \u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "If the measure becomes law, it would require Medi-Cal and other large group health plans to cover scalp-cooling treatments.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a> mom Anna Karrer Manley remembers one of the hardest conversations she had two years ago.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She was 45 and had recently learned about her breast cancer diagnosis. She needed to share the news with her two kids, then ages 6 and 11, to prepare them for her battle with the disease — six rounds of chemotherapy and their most recognizable side effect, hair loss. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“My son had just started a new school in sixth grade, and he sheepishly asked me, ‘So, Mom, are you still gonna come to pick up?’” Karrer Manley said. “[My daughter] just cried because she didn’t want Mommy to change\u003cem>.\u003c/em>”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Soon after her diagnosis, Karrer Manley joined a breast cancer patient support group, \u003ca href=\"https://bayareayoungsurvivors.org/\">Bay Area Young Survivors\u003c/a>, where she learned about scalp cooling, an FDA-cleared treatment that helps patients keep their hair through cooling caps, which can be worn before, during and after chemotherapy infusions. The technology helps restrict blood flow and reduce the amount of medication that reaches the hair follicles. The vast majority of people who use scalp cooling, like Karrer Manley, are battling breast cancer, according to \u003ca href=\"https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/JCO.2021.39.15_suppl.e18739\">research\u003c/a> presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology in 2021. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-46-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099645\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-46-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-46-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-46-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ines (from left), Stacey Manley, Etienne, Anna Karrer Manley, and their chemo puppy, Asa, at their home in Oakland on Sept. 13, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-5 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12099642\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-27-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099642\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-27-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-27-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-27-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Anna Karrer Manley shows strands of her hair that grew back darker and curlier after falling out during chemotherapy. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12099641\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-26-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099641\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-26-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-26-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-26-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Anna Karrer Manley holds a photo of herself wearing a cold cap at her home in Oakland on Sept. 13, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The technology wasn’t covered through insurance, but Karrer Manley said she and her husband scraped around $5,000 to pay for the treatment. (She returned to work part time during treatment.) The cooling caps allowed her to keep 70% of her hair, she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Her vibrant complexion and beyond-shoulder-length hair belie the difficult journey of survival — and advocacy — she’s undertaken. Karrer Manley has since joined survivors, medical professionals and public health advocates calling for the passage of \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1682\">AB 1682\u003c/a>, which is currently on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, that aims to make automated mechanical scalp-cooling devices more accessible, beginning in 2027.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“To move about the world during chemo treatment with your hair and not everybody realizing what’s going on with you or staring at you, I think that’s really meaningful and important, and it has such an impact on your mental health,” said Karrer Manley, sitting at her dining room table alongside Asa, the “chemo puppy” she adopted for treatment support. “You know, cancer takes so much from you, it really robs so much of you, but at least I had a little bit of hair.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At a June \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260ab1682\">hearing\u003c/a> in Sacramento, the bill’s co-author Assemblymember Gregg Hart of Santa Barbara said the measure – which resembles \u003ca href=\"https://rapunzelproject.org/\">similar\u003c/a> laws in five states (Connecticut, Louisiana, Maryland, New York and West Virginia) — would preserve “dignity, confidence and quality of life” for Californians fighting cancer, regardless of their ability to pay.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The amended proposal — which state legislators passed unanimously — applies to large group insurers and Medi-Cal plans.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In April, the California Health Benefits Review Program, a nonpartisan \u003ca href=\"https://www.chbrp.org/about\">group\u003c/a> tasked with responding to the state Legislature’s request for independent review of all proposed bills related to health benefits, reviewed an earlier, broader draft of AB 1682. The original legislation would have applied to \u003cem>all\u003c/em> state-regulated health insurance, but would have resulted in 680 additional enrollees receiving scalp cooling, for an additional $4 million in annual premiums paid by employers and enrollees.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Janet Coffman, a member of the benefits review program and a health policy expert with UCSF, said the technology has a relatively small fiscal impact (unlike, for example, proposed insurance \u003ca href=\"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Wellness/halle-berry-criticizes-gov-gavin-newsom-devaluing-women/story?id=128104843\">mandates\u003c/a> for pre- and postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy that Newsom vetoed in 2025, calling it “too far-reaching”).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s only for people who are actively undergoing cancer treatment. And they’re really only used with a subset of cancers,” Coffman said. “The marginal cost is pretty small.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-57-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099646\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-57-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-57-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-57-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Anna Karrer Manley (center) with her children Etienne (left) and Ines (right) at their home in Oakland on Sept. 13, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-6 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12099647\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-69-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099647\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-69-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-69-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-69-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Anna Karrer Manley walks her dog, Asa, whom she got while she was undergoing chemotherapy, near her home in Oakland on Sept. 13, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12099639\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-19-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099639\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-19-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-19-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260913-CancerScalpTreatment-NG-19-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cookbooks, including The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen: Nourishing, Big-Flavor Recipes for Cancer Treatment and Recovery, in Anna Karrer Manley’s home in Oakland on Sept. 13, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The insurance lobby group California Association of Health Plans has opposed the measure, arguing that Californians are facing a health care affordability crisis, citing a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/2026/06/california-health-tax-medi-cal-premiums/\">health tax redesign\u003c/a> recently approved by the governor that the California Medical Association, a physician advocacy group, has \u003ca href=\"https://www.cmadocs.org/newsroom/news/view/cma-warns-2026-27-state-budget-will-increase-health-insurance-costs\">warned\u003c/a> could pass through to consumers in the form of higher premiums.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“At the same time, six additional health care mandates, including AB 1682, have been sent to the governor for his signature that will altogether increase premiums by more than $170 million, piling on even more health care costs for working families across the state,” the CAHP said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The governor’s office declined to comment on bills pending action from Newsom by a Sept. 30 deadline. He is no stranger to the disease, as he has previously \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/02/04/gavin-newsom-assisted-suicide\">spoken\u003c/a> about being with his mother during her assisted suicide in 2002 after her yearslong battle with breast cancer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Karrer Manley hopes that he will advocate for supportive cancer care for people who otherwise cannot afford it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There are just too many people impacted by cancer, and yet the fiscal impact is so small,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Cancer Research Saved This Berkeley Resident. Its Future May Depend on Trump",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>In 2017, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/berkeley\">Berkeley\u003c/a> resident Ben Stein-Lobovits was celebrating his friend’s marriage when he noticed a headache and numbness in his tongue. His friends chalked the neurological symptoms up to a hangover. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On the eve of his 32nd birthday, he was diagnosed with a brainstem glioma, an inoperable brain tumor.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I like to say, ‘I-turned-30 tumor,’” Stein-Lobovits said, laughing. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What followed is a period of his life that is hard to recall, he said, a “tornado” of appointments. The standard care of treatment was chemo and radiation — with a prognosis of six t0 10 months. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12099890\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260915-CANCERSURVIVOR-02-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099890\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260915-CANCERSURVIVOR-02-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260915-CANCERSURVIVOR-02-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260915-CANCERSURVIVOR-02-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ben Stein-Lobovits holds a childhood photo of himself with his father at his home in Berkeley on Sept. 15, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12099891\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260915-CANCERSURVIVOR-03-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099891\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260915-CANCERSURVIVOR-03-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260915-CANCERSURVIVOR-03-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260915-CANCERSURVIVOR-03-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ben Stein-Lobovits sits outside his home in Berkeley on Sept. 15, 2026. He was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2018. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There has to be another solution,” Stein-Lobovits remembered saying at the time.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He began reading papers and getting in touch with researchers, eventually leading him to a trial of an experimental treatment — dordaviprone, a drug that blocks survival signals in tumor cells. Nine years later, his tumor has shrunk by about 70%, he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thanks to breakthroughs in cancer treatment, reduced smoking and improved detection, cancer rates declined by 35% between 1991 and 2024, according to a new report from the American Association for Cancer Research, the first and largest professional organization dedicated to preventing and curing all cancers. And over the last year alone, new scientific breakthroughs have reached patients in the form of new treatments for their specific disease. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026, the FDA approved one new treatment device, expanded five previously approved therapies to include new cancer types and green-lit 11 new cancer therapeutics — including dordaviprone. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The report, which highlights Stein-Lobovits’ experience with the drug, also notes several advances in cancer prevention and detection — vaccines that prevent cancers in high-risk individuals and train immune systems to eliminate existing tumors; at-home test kits for HPV, a disease linked to cervical cancer; and AI-based tools to help doctors interpret routine medical imaging and carry out complex research tasks. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite the progress, cancer continues to be one of the leading causes of death in the U.S., killing about \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db548.htm\">610,000\u003c/a> people annually. An estimated 2.1 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed in 2026, and this number is projected to rise to 2.5 million by 2050, according to AACR findings. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Cancer’s risks are not distributed equally — racial and ethnic minority groups and other medically underserved populations in the U.S. continue to shoulder a disproportionate burden of the disease. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Even the strongest research system falls short if patients cannot benefit from its advances,” the report states. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite significant strides, researchers warned of a major threat to cancer research: another wave of funding cuts following policy changes from the Trump administration. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A report from the \u003ca href=\"https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/cost-trump-administrations-attacks-research-funding\">Brennan Center for Justice\u003c/a> says the administration’s actions — including the decision to remove all members of the board of advisers to the National Science Foundation — have caused grantmaking to “slow to a crawl” since the start of this fiscal year. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In early 2025, the administration cut or froze more than 2,200 active National Institutes of Health research grants and withdrew billions of dollars in previously awarded research funding, according to the AACR report. Then, the president’s budget request for fiscal year 2027, released in April 2026, proposed a $5 billion reduction in overall NIH funding, compared with the previous year’s levels.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A new \u003ca href=\"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/29/2026-10817/regulation-for-federal-financial-assistance?utm_campaign=subscription+mailing+list&utm_medium=email&utm_source=federalregister.gov#addresses\">rule\u003c/a> proposed by the Office of Management and Budget to overhaul federal grantmaking could “inject political considerations into funding decisions and broaden federal agencies’ authority to terminate grants for reasons unrelated to scientific merit or recipient performance,” the report says. This could further reduce funding if the Senate’s decision to block the rule is allowed to expire in December. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250424_UCSFFile_GC-16_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12040284\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250424_UCSFFile_GC-16_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250424_UCSFFile_GC-16_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250424_UCSFFile_GC-16_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250424_UCSFFile_GC-16_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250424_UCSFFile_GC-16_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250424_UCSFFile_GC-16_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay in San Francisco on April 24, 2025. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Without strong federal support for medical research, the U.S. risks losing its position as a global leader in scientific discovery, innovation and the development of lifesaving cancer treatments, the report warns.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Dr. Iona Cheng, a cancer epidemiologist at UCSF and a co-investigator of the Greater Bay Area Cancer Registry, said that the federal action “significantly impacts our ability to continue and sustain important cancer research.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Stein-Lobovits, now 40, credits cutting-edge research with allowing him to live. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s allowed me to watch my girls grow up,” he said. “It has given me so much hope.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He advised other survivors going through their own cancer journeys to “not take no for an answer.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Advocate for yourself, question everything, and don’t be hard on yourself,” Stein-Lobovits said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He advised other survivors going through their own cancer journeys to “not take no for an answer.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A new report reviews major advances in cancer research — and warns of the impact of federal funding cuts.",
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"title": "Cancer Research Saved This Berkeley Resident. Its Future May Depend on Trump | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>In 2017, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/berkeley\">Berkeley\u003c/a> resident Ben Stein-Lobovits was celebrating his friend’s marriage when he noticed a headache and numbness in his tongue. His friends chalked the neurological symptoms up to a hangover. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On the eve of his 32nd birthday, he was diagnosed with a brainstem glioma, an inoperable brain tumor.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I like to say, ‘I-turned-30 tumor,’” Stein-Lobovits said, laughing. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>What followed is a period of his life that is hard to recall, he said, a “tornado” of appointments. The standard care of treatment was chemo and radiation — with a prognosis of six t0 10 months. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12099890\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260915-CANCERSURVIVOR-02-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099890\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260915-CANCERSURVIVOR-02-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260915-CANCERSURVIVOR-02-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260915-CANCERSURVIVOR-02-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ben Stein-Lobovits holds a childhood photo of himself with his father at his home in Berkeley on Sept. 15, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12099891\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260915-CANCERSURVIVOR-03-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12099891\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260915-CANCERSURVIVOR-03-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260915-CANCERSURVIVOR-03-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260915-CANCERSURVIVOR-03-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ben Stein-Lobovits sits outside his home in Berkeley on Sept. 15, 2026. He was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2018. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There has to be another solution,” Stein-Lobovits remembered saying at the time.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He began reading papers and getting in touch with researchers, eventually leading him to a trial of an experimental treatment — dordaviprone, a drug that blocks survival signals in tumor cells. Nine years later, his tumor has shrunk by about 70%, he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Thanks to breakthroughs in cancer treatment, reduced smoking and improved detection, cancer rates declined by 35% between 1991 and 2024, according to a new report from the American Association for Cancer Research, the first and largest professional organization dedicated to preventing and curing all cancers. And over the last year alone, new scientific breakthroughs have reached patients in the form of new treatments for their specific disease. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026, the FDA approved one new treatment device, expanded five previously approved therapies to include new cancer types and green-lit 11 new cancer therapeutics — including dordaviprone. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The report, which highlights Stein-Lobovits’ experience with the drug, also notes several advances in cancer prevention and detection — vaccines that prevent cancers in high-risk individuals and train immune systems to eliminate existing tumors; at-home test kits for HPV, a disease linked to cervical cancer; and AI-based tools to help doctors interpret routine medical imaging and carry out complex research tasks. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite the progress, cancer continues to be one of the leading causes of death in the U.S., killing about \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db548.htm\">610,000\u003c/a> people annually. An estimated 2.1 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed in 2026, and this number is projected to rise to 2.5 million by 2050, according to AACR findings. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Cancer’s risks are not distributed equally — racial and ethnic minority groups and other medically underserved populations in the U.S. continue to shoulder a disproportionate burden of the disease. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Even the strongest research system falls short if patients cannot benefit from its advances,” the report states. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite significant strides, researchers warned of a major threat to cancer research: another wave of funding cuts following policy changes from the Trump administration. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A report from the \u003ca href=\"https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/cost-trump-administrations-attacks-research-funding\">Brennan Center for Justice\u003c/a> says the administration’s actions — including the decision to remove all members of the board of advisers to the National Science Foundation — have caused grantmaking to “slow to a crawl” since the start of this fiscal year. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In early 2025, the administration cut or froze more than 2,200 active National Institutes of Health research grants and withdrew billions of dollars in previously awarded research funding, according to the AACR report. Then, the president’s budget request for fiscal year 2027, released in April 2026, proposed a $5 billion reduction in overall NIH funding, compared with the previous year’s levels.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A new \u003ca href=\"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/29/2026-10817/regulation-for-federal-financial-assistance?utm_campaign=subscription+mailing+list&utm_medium=email&utm_source=federalregister.gov#addresses\">rule\u003c/a> proposed by the Office of Management and Budget to overhaul federal grantmaking could “inject political considerations into funding decisions and broaden federal agencies’ authority to terminate grants for reasons unrelated to scientific merit or recipient performance,” the report says. This could further reduce funding if the Senate’s decision to block the rule is allowed to expire in December. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250424_UCSFFile_GC-16_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12040284\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250424_UCSFFile_GC-16_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250424_UCSFFile_GC-16_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250424_UCSFFile_GC-16_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250424_UCSFFile_GC-16_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250424_UCSFFile_GC-16_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250424_UCSFFile_GC-16_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay in San Francisco on April 24, 2025. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>Without strong federal support for medical research, the U.S. risks losing its position as a global leader in scientific discovery, innovation and the development of lifesaving cancer treatments, the report warns.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Dr. Iona Cheng, a cancer epidemiologist at UCSF and a co-investigator of the Greater Bay Area Cancer Registry, said that the federal action “significantly impacts our ability to continue and sustain important cancer research.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Stein-Lobovits, now 40, credits cutting-edge research with allowing him to live. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s allowed me to watch my girls grow up,” he said. “It has given me so much hope.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He advised other survivors going through their own cancer journeys to “not take no for an answer.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Advocate for yourself, question everything, and don’t be hard on yourself,” Stein-Lobovits said.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "california-stoneworkers-with-silicosis-struggle-to-get-workers-comp",
"title": "California Stoneworkers With Silicosis Struggle to Get Workers’ Comp",
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"content": "\u003cp>Eleazar Resendiz Cortes has seen an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064693/california-doctors-urge-ban-on-engineered-stone-as-silicosis-cases-surge\">incurable job-related lung disease\u003c/a> disable six of his coworkers in the countertop fabrication industry. Two of the men in their 50s needed oxygen machines to breathe before they had lung transplants, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Resendiz Cortes, who was diagnosed with silicosis in 2024, fears a similar fate. The 38-year-old can no longer work. He pursued workers’ compensation insurance benefits that are meant to support people injured on the job, but has received no payment after two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Things are really hard,” Resendiz Cortes, a Bakersfield resident who ran out of savings and has no income, told KQED in Spanish. “It’s terrible. As a worker, one wants to improve oneself. But then you are the one who gets sick, you are the one who ends up suffering and struggling.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s silicosis epidemic is exposing deep failures in the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/WCFaqIW.html\">workers’ compensation\u003c/a> system. As hundreds of countertop fabrication workers become gravely ill from inhaling dust generated by a factory-made stone, many say insurers are delaying or denying benefits meant to cover lost wages and medical care. The disputes are leaving some workers destitute while taxpayers shoulder the cost of expensive treatments, including lung transplants, even as state regulators consider restricting the material linked to the disease’s spread.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Occupational doctors are simultaneously \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067166/health-emergency-california-doctors-urge-ban-of-countertop-material-linked-to-deadly-disease\">pressing California regulators\u003c/a> to restrict engineered stone, the countertop material many physicians believe is driving the surge in silicosis cases, a claim disputed by manufacturers of the popular product in a multibillion-dollar industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The companies \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12070138/stone-industry-proposes-self-policing-as-california-weighs-artificial-stone-ban\">oppose\u003c/a> the move to limit engineered stone, also known as quartz or artificial stone, arguing that it’s not their product that’s causing the problem, but fabrication shops that fail to follow proper safety measures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Taxpayers are bearing the cost of lifesaving medical treatment for many sick stoneworkers, including lung transplants estimated at more than $1 million each. Medi-Cal, the state’s public health insurance program, was the main payer — not workers’ compensation — even though the disease is occupational, according to \u003ca href=\"https://academic.oup.com/ajrccm/article/211/Supplement_1/A6310/8338415#google_vignette\">a study\u003c/a> published last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084041\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12084041 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1826-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1826-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1826-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1826-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eleazar Resendiz Cortes and his wife prepare lunch with ingredients from his garden on Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Bakersfield, California. Cortes says the garden has helped keep him busy after he could no longer work. \u003ccite>(Julie Leopo for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Ultimately, workers’ comp should be paying for these patients’ medical care, especially if they do not have some other form of insurance, because that is the goal of workers’ comp,” said Dr. Sheiphali Gandhi, a pulmonologist at UCSF, who co-authored the report. “Silicosis, there’s no other cause other than work exposure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Department of Insurance, which oversees insurer behavior and the workers’ compensation market, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. In 2024, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara requested a \u003ca href=\"https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2024/release030-2024.cfm\">detailed \u003c/a>analysis on silicosis claims to “ensure that affected workers receive the benefits they are entitled to.” But it’s unclear what the outcome was.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lara called for an evaluation shortly after a \u003cem>Los Angeles Times\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-07-11/his-lungs-failed-doctors-blame-work-had-to-fight-workers-comp\">story\u003c/a> detailed the struggles of a lung transplant patient to get workers’ compensation from AmTrust North America, the same insurer that continues to deny Resendiz Cortes’ claim.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mounting scientific evidence shows people get sick from inhaling toxic crystalline silica particles generated when cutting or polishing artificial stone, even when safety precautions are followed. The silica dust released by engineered stone is much more dangerous than that of granite and other natural stones, doctors say.[aside postID=news_12064693 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251115-DEADLY-LUNG-DISEASE-MD-01-KQED-1.jpg']The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board plans \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/oshsb/documents/agendaMay2026.pdf\">to vote\u003c/a> Thursday on whether to advance a medical association’s petition to ban the fabrication and installation of artificial stone with more than 1% crystalline silica. In an \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/oshsb/documents/petition-609-staffeval.pdf\">analysis\u003c/a> disclosed last week, the board’s staff concluded a prohibition may be the quickest and most cost-effective way to stem the industry’s silicosis epidemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Why are we keeping a toxic product in our state that is costing taxpayers millions of dollars?” said Gandhi, who cares for dozens of silicosis patients. “It’s not benefiting the California population other than just the way people’s countertops look.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Silicosis is an ancient illness afflicting stonemasons, sandblasters and miners that has resurfaced in the U.S. as artificial stone became the top countertop material. The global market for engineered stone, valued at $26.5 billion in 2025, is estimated to reach $45 billion by 2033.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consumers prefer it to natural stones because it’s often cheaper, stain-resistant and available in beautiful designs and colors. But many ignore the risks the material brings to the workers who make and install their kitchen and bathroom countertops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Australia became the first country to ban artificial stone in 2024, and some manufacturers have developed alternatives with lower crystalline silica.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, the only state \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/Pages/essdashboard.aspx\">actively tracking\u003c/a> silicosis linked to the material, 31 stoneworkers have died, and nearly 60 have undergone lung transplants since 2019. At least 560 people have been diagnosed with the disease, a figure that’s expected to balloon. Most of these cases, 75%, were confirmed over the last three years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084036\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12084036\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0636-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0636-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0636-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0636-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eleazar Resendiz Cortes, 38, points to countertops in his Bakersfield, California, home made from artificial stone leftover from his previous jobs on Thursday, May 14, 2026. Cortes says the material serves as a harsh reminder of his silicosis diagnosis. \u003ccite>(Julie Leopo for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Nearly all of those sick statewide are low-income Latino immigrants who didn’t know about the dangers of inhaling engineered stone dust until they or coworkers got sick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Resendiz Cortes worked in countertop fabrication shops for a decade, first in the San Fernando Valley, which has become the U.S. silicosis epicenter, and then in Bakersfield. The father of three girls said a back injury, which he attributes to lifting heavy stone slabs on the job, also prevents him from returning to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He received state disability benefits for the maximum period of one year. His family now relies on help from relatives to survive. Resendiz Cortes worries about their economic uncertainty as well as the worsening shortness of breath that keeps him from biking or swimming with his children as he used to. He mourns that his entire life was transformed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t see anything positive. Just negative things, and that doesn’t help much,” said Resendiz Cortes, who doesn’t leave his house most days. “What I want is for someone to take responsibility. In this case, the insurance companies.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, all employers with more than one employee are required to have workers’ compensation insurance. Workers who suffer an injury or illness on the job should be technically eligible to receive compensation to cover medical care and long-term disability, but the system often does not function well for ill laborers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084039\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12084039\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1289-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1289-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1289-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1289-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eleazar Resendiz Cortes’ wife shows scans of his chest in their home on Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Bakersfield, California, that revealed particles around his lungs linked to his silicosis diagnosis. \u003ccite>(Julie Leopo for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>AmTrust North America denied all liability in Resendiz Cortes’ case in an August 2024 letter viewed by KQED, citing “no substantial medical, legal or factual evidence to support the cumulative trauma claim.” The Cleveland, Ohio-based company did not respond to requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A top executive for a second insurer, Omaha National, said the company could not comment on the specifics of Resendiz Cortes’ case but is investigating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We remain committed to handling every claim fairly and in accordance with policy terms and established processes,” said Chris LaMantia, Omaha National’s chief sales and marketing officer, in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Resendiz Cortes said his last place of employment, Custom Stone Interiors, dry-cut artificial stone slabs, and also used wet methods to tamp the dust down. Although he wore a filter respirator when polishing and cutting countertops, he said, he still found white dust over his face and nostrils at the end of the day. He would blow the dust out of his nose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Custom Stone Interiors declined to comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084038\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12084038\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1088-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1088-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1088-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1088-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eleazar Resendiz Cortes, 38, stands in his garden on Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Bakersfield, California. Cortes started gardening after he could no longer work and now grows fresh vegetables for his family. \u003ccite>(Julie Leopo for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We saw your email but are not interested in a comment,” a company representative said when reached by phone before hanging up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Statewide, at least 80 other sick stonecutters remain without workers’ comp payment after fighting for a year or longer for the benefits, according to Barry Rodich, whose L.A. law firm represents them and Resendiz Cortes. Insurers have an economic incentive to deny or delay the expensive claims, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They will always try to say, ‘Well, there’s a latency period, and it’s not my client that’s responsible. It’s somebody before us,’” said Rodich, whose firm specializes in silicosis cases. “These delays by the insurance company just make my clients worse.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Laborers can challenge insurance denials at the state Division of Workers’ Compensation and the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, but obtaining a resolution can take months or years. About 460 cases were awaiting a judge’s decision at the appeals board last month, a smaller backlog than in recent years, according to the Department of Industrial Relations, which oversees the agencies.[aside postID=news_12070138 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/StoneWorkerGetty2.jpg']“Penalties related to unreasonable delays or refusals are addressed through the adjudication process on a case-by-case basis and depend on the facts and circumstances of each individual matter,” the spokesperson said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of the hundreds of California stonecutters with silicosis don’t seek workers’ compensation benefits because they are self-employed or past workplaces lack the insurance. Others decline to apply for benefits that will likely increase costs for their former employers, according to Rodich.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot of loyalty,” he said. “Some of these individuals feel like they have an allegiance to these employers. And the reason why is because they helped get them a job, they may have helped them in other ways… And so when they find out that their insurance premiums could potentially be affected in the following year, they don’t want to do anything.”\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rodich’s firm has settled a handful of silicosis cases for amounts ranging between $1.5 million and $3 million each, usually when the workers’ disease is so advanced that a lung transplant is required, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The high price tag likely elicits extra scrutiny from insurers, which aim to weed out any fraudulent claims. Insurers’ investigations aim to determine whether their client employer indeed hired the injured worker and is liable for illness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in the countertop fabrication industry, workers often have multiple employers over their careers, and job records might be missing, said Yvonne Lang, who has represented insurers on silicosis claims and helped settle one case recently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084035\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12084035\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0557-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0557-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0557-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0557-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eleazar Resendiz Cortes, 38, points to countertops in his Bakersfield, California, home made from artificial stone leftover from his previous jobs on Thursday, May 14, 2026. \u003ccite>(Julie Leopo for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“When there’s multiple employers, the employers are going to point the fingers at each other,” said Lang, a former president of the California Workers’ Compensation Defense Attorneys Association. “And if the employers are pointing the fingers at each other, the [insurance] carriers are going to point the fingers at each other.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Insurance companies are more likely to deny claims for illnesses developed over time, when compared to physical injuries linked to a single accident, such as a ladder fall, according to experts. To fight the insurer’s denial, workers must often enlist an attorney willing to help on time-consuming and costly cases, which is another barrier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sick workers’ struggle to get compensation benefits has led the federal government to intervene and create separate programs to support some of them, such as for Virginia coal miners with black lung disease, and nuclear plant workers with cancer from radiation, said Glenn Shor, a retired public policy and research analyst with the California Department of Industrial Relations, Cal/OSHA, and Division of Workers’ Compensation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For insurers, “denial is often the first step because they think some of those cases will go away,” said Shor. “If they’re denied, some people will contact a lawyer, but some people just say, I shouldn’t have worked at that place or I should have worn a mask more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Many California countertop workers diagnosed with silicosis from engineered stone are struggling to obtain workers’ compensation benefits as insurers deny claims and taxpayers fund costly lung transplants through Medi-Cal.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Eleazar Resendiz Cortes has seen an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064693/california-doctors-urge-ban-on-engineered-stone-as-silicosis-cases-surge\">incurable job-related lung disease\u003c/a> disable six of his coworkers in the countertop fabrication industry. Two of the men in their 50s needed oxygen machines to breathe before they had lung transplants, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Resendiz Cortes, who was diagnosed with silicosis in 2024, fears a similar fate. The 38-year-old can no longer work. He pursued workers’ compensation insurance benefits that are meant to support people injured on the job, but has received no payment after two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Things are really hard,” Resendiz Cortes, a Bakersfield resident who ran out of savings and has no income, told KQED in Spanish. “It’s terrible. As a worker, one wants to improve oneself. But then you are the one who gets sick, you are the one who ends up suffering and struggling.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s silicosis epidemic is exposing deep failures in the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/dwc/WCFaqIW.html\">workers’ compensation\u003c/a> system. As hundreds of countertop fabrication workers become gravely ill from inhaling dust generated by a factory-made stone, many say insurers are delaying or denying benefits meant to cover lost wages and medical care. The disputes are leaving some workers destitute while taxpayers shoulder the cost of expensive treatments, including lung transplants, even as state regulators consider restricting the material linked to the disease’s spread.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Occupational doctors are simultaneously \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067166/health-emergency-california-doctors-urge-ban-of-countertop-material-linked-to-deadly-disease\">pressing California regulators\u003c/a> to restrict engineered stone, the countertop material many physicians believe is driving the surge in silicosis cases, a claim disputed by manufacturers of the popular product in a multibillion-dollar industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The companies \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12070138/stone-industry-proposes-self-policing-as-california-weighs-artificial-stone-ban\">oppose\u003c/a> the move to limit engineered stone, also known as quartz or artificial stone, arguing that it’s not their product that’s causing the problem, but fabrication shops that fail to follow proper safety measures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Taxpayers are bearing the cost of lifesaving medical treatment for many sick stoneworkers, including lung transplants estimated at more than $1 million each. Medi-Cal, the state’s public health insurance program, was the main payer — not workers’ compensation — even though the disease is occupational, according to \u003ca href=\"https://academic.oup.com/ajrccm/article/211/Supplement_1/A6310/8338415#google_vignette\">a study\u003c/a> published last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084041\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12084041 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1826-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1826-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1826-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1826-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eleazar Resendiz Cortes and his wife prepare lunch with ingredients from his garden on Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Bakersfield, California. Cortes says the garden has helped keep him busy after he could no longer work. \u003ccite>(Julie Leopo for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Ultimately, workers’ comp should be paying for these patients’ medical care, especially if they do not have some other form of insurance, because that is the goal of workers’ comp,” said Dr. Sheiphali Gandhi, a pulmonologist at UCSF, who co-authored the report. “Silicosis, there’s no other cause other than work exposure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Department of Insurance, which oversees insurer behavior and the workers’ compensation market, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. In 2024, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara requested a \u003ca href=\"https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2024/release030-2024.cfm\">detailed \u003c/a>analysis on silicosis claims to “ensure that affected workers receive the benefits they are entitled to.” But it’s unclear what the outcome was.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lara called for an evaluation shortly after a \u003cem>Los Angeles Times\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-07-11/his-lungs-failed-doctors-blame-work-had-to-fight-workers-comp\">story\u003c/a> detailed the struggles of a lung transplant patient to get workers’ compensation from AmTrust North America, the same insurer that continues to deny Resendiz Cortes’ claim.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mounting scientific evidence shows people get sick from inhaling toxic crystalline silica particles generated when cutting or polishing artificial stone, even when safety precautions are followed. The silica dust released by engineered stone is much more dangerous than that of granite and other natural stones, doctors say.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board plans \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/oshsb/documents/agendaMay2026.pdf\">to vote\u003c/a> Thursday on whether to advance a medical association’s petition to ban the fabrication and installation of artificial stone with more than 1% crystalline silica. In an \u003ca href=\"https://www.dir.ca.gov/oshsb/documents/petition-609-staffeval.pdf\">analysis\u003c/a> disclosed last week, the board’s staff concluded a prohibition may be the quickest and most cost-effective way to stem the industry’s silicosis epidemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Why are we keeping a toxic product in our state that is costing taxpayers millions of dollars?” said Gandhi, who cares for dozens of silicosis patients. “It’s not benefiting the California population other than just the way people’s countertops look.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Silicosis is an ancient illness afflicting stonemasons, sandblasters and miners that has resurfaced in the U.S. as artificial stone became the top countertop material. The global market for engineered stone, valued at $26.5 billion in 2025, is estimated to reach $45 billion by 2033.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consumers prefer it to natural stones because it’s often cheaper, stain-resistant and available in beautiful designs and colors. But many ignore the risks the material brings to the workers who make and install their kitchen and bathroom countertops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Australia became the first country to ban artificial stone in 2024, and some manufacturers have developed alternatives with lower crystalline silica.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, the only state \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/Pages/essdashboard.aspx\">actively tracking\u003c/a> silicosis linked to the material, 31 stoneworkers have died, and nearly 60 have undergone lung transplants since 2019. At least 560 people have been diagnosed with the disease, a figure that’s expected to balloon. Most of these cases, 75%, were confirmed over the last three years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084036\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12084036\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0636-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0636-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0636-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0636-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eleazar Resendiz Cortes, 38, points to countertops in his Bakersfield, California, home made from artificial stone leftover from his previous jobs on Thursday, May 14, 2026. Cortes says the material serves as a harsh reminder of his silicosis diagnosis. \u003ccite>(Julie Leopo for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Nearly all of those sick statewide are low-income Latino immigrants who didn’t know about the dangers of inhaling engineered stone dust until they or coworkers got sick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Resendiz Cortes worked in countertop fabrication shops for a decade, first in the San Fernando Valley, which has become the U.S. silicosis epicenter, and then in Bakersfield. The father of three girls said a back injury, which he attributes to lifting heavy stone slabs on the job, also prevents him from returning to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He received state disability benefits for the maximum period of one year. His family now relies on help from relatives to survive. Resendiz Cortes worries about their economic uncertainty as well as the worsening shortness of breath that keeps him from biking or swimming with his children as he used to. He mourns that his entire life was transformed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t see anything positive. Just negative things, and that doesn’t help much,” said Resendiz Cortes, who doesn’t leave his house most days. “What I want is for someone to take responsibility. In this case, the insurance companies.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, all employers with more than one employee are required to have workers’ compensation insurance. Workers who suffer an injury or illness on the job should be technically eligible to receive compensation to cover medical care and long-term disability, but the system often does not function well for ill laborers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084039\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12084039\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1289-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1289-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1289-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1289-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eleazar Resendiz Cortes’ wife shows scans of his chest in their home on Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Bakersfield, California, that revealed particles around his lungs linked to his silicosis diagnosis. \u003ccite>(Julie Leopo for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>AmTrust North America denied all liability in Resendiz Cortes’ case in an August 2024 letter viewed by KQED, citing “no substantial medical, legal or factual evidence to support the cumulative trauma claim.” The Cleveland, Ohio-based company did not respond to requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A top executive for a second insurer, Omaha National, said the company could not comment on the specifics of Resendiz Cortes’ case but is investigating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We remain committed to handling every claim fairly and in accordance with policy terms and established processes,” said Chris LaMantia, Omaha National’s chief sales and marketing officer, in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Resendiz Cortes said his last place of employment, Custom Stone Interiors, dry-cut artificial stone slabs, and also used wet methods to tamp the dust down. Although he wore a filter respirator when polishing and cutting countertops, he said, he still found white dust over his face and nostrils at the end of the day. He would blow the dust out of his nose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Custom Stone Interiors declined to comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084038\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12084038\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1088-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1088-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1088-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-1088-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eleazar Resendiz Cortes, 38, stands in his garden on Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Bakersfield, California. Cortes started gardening after he could no longer work and now grows fresh vegetables for his family. \u003ccite>(Julie Leopo for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We saw your email but are not interested in a comment,” a company representative said when reached by phone before hanging up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Statewide, at least 80 other sick stonecutters remain without workers’ comp payment after fighting for a year or longer for the benefits, according to Barry Rodich, whose L.A. law firm represents them and Resendiz Cortes. Insurers have an economic incentive to deny or delay the expensive claims, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They will always try to say, ‘Well, there’s a latency period, and it’s not my client that’s responsible. It’s somebody before us,’” said Rodich, whose firm specializes in silicosis cases. “These delays by the insurance company just make my clients worse.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Laborers can challenge insurance denials at the state Division of Workers’ Compensation and the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, but obtaining a resolution can take months or years. About 460 cases were awaiting a judge’s decision at the appeals board last month, a smaller backlog than in recent years, according to the Department of Industrial Relations, which oversees the agencies.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Penalties related to unreasonable delays or refusals are addressed through the adjudication process on a case-by-case basis and depend on the facts and circumstances of each individual matter,” the spokesperson said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of the hundreds of California stonecutters with silicosis don’t seek workers’ compensation benefits because they are self-employed or past workplaces lack the insurance. Others decline to apply for benefits that will likely increase costs for their former employers, according to Rodich.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot of loyalty,” he said. “Some of these individuals feel like they have an allegiance to these employers. And the reason why is because they helped get them a job, they may have helped them in other ways… And so when they find out that their insurance premiums could potentially be affected in the following year, they don’t want to do anything.”\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rodich’s firm has settled a handful of silicosis cases for amounts ranging between $1.5 million and $3 million each, usually when the workers’ disease is so advanced that a lung transplant is required, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The high price tag likely elicits extra scrutiny from insurers, which aim to weed out any fraudulent claims. Insurers’ investigations aim to determine whether their client employer indeed hired the injured worker and is liable for illness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in the countertop fabrication industry, workers often have multiple employers over their careers, and job records might be missing, said Yvonne Lang, who has represented insurers on silicosis claims and helped settle one case recently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12084035\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12084035\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0557-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0557-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0557-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/ELEAZAR-RESENDIZ-CORTES-KQED-LEOPO-2026-0557-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eleazar Resendiz Cortes, 38, points to countertops in his Bakersfield, California, home made from artificial stone leftover from his previous jobs on Thursday, May 14, 2026. \u003ccite>(Julie Leopo for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“When there’s multiple employers, the employers are going to point the fingers at each other,” said Lang, a former president of the California Workers’ Compensation Defense Attorneys Association. “And if the employers are pointing the fingers at each other, the [insurance] carriers are going to point the fingers at each other.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Insurance companies are more likely to deny claims for illnesses developed over time, when compared to physical injuries linked to a single accident, such as a ladder fall, according to experts. To fight the insurer’s denial, workers must often enlist an attorney willing to help on time-consuming and costly cases, which is another barrier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sick workers’ struggle to get compensation benefits has led the federal government to intervene and create separate programs to support some of them, such as for Virginia coal miners with black lung disease, and nuclear plant workers with cancer from radiation, said Glenn Shor, a retired public policy and research analyst with the California Department of Industrial Relations, Cal/OSHA, and Division of Workers’ Compensation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For insurers, “denial is often the first step because they think some of those cases will go away,” said Shor. “If they’re denied, some people will contact a lawyer, but some people just say, I shouldn’t have worked at that place or I should have worn a mask more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "trump-administration-sends-pregnant-unaccompanied-minors-to-texas-shelter-flagged-as-medically-inadequate",
"title": "Trump Administration Sends Pregnant Unaccompanied Minors to Texas Shelter Flagged as Medically Inadequate",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cb>Here are the morning’s top stories on Monday, February 16, 2026\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Trump administration is making changes to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12072843/texas-trump-immigration-pregnant-migrants-shelter\">how it treats unaccompanied migrant children who are pregnant\u003c/a>, and that’s raising alarm bells inside the government. Since last July, the administration has been concentrating pregnant kids in one shelter in South Texas, even if they’re apprehended in California or other states. This comes over objections from the government’s own health and child welfare officials. They say neither the facility nor the region can provide the specialized care the girls need. \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Firefighters across the state \u003ca href=\"https://health.ucdavis.edu/synthesis/summer-2025/community-outreach/firefighters\">are working with scientists\u003c/a> at the University of California to minimize their risk to cancer.\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12072843/texas-trump-immigration-pregnant-migrants-shelter\">\u003cstrong>Trump Administration Sends Pregnant Unaccompanied Minors to Texas Shelter\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/donald-trump\">Trump\u003c/a> administration is sending all pregnant unaccompanied minors apprehended by immigration enforcement to a single group shelter in South Texas. The decision was made over urgent objections from the government’s own health and child welfare officials, who say both the facility and the region lack the specialized care the girls need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s according to seven sources who work at the Office of Refugee Resettlement within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which handles the custody and care of children who cross the border without a parent or legal guardian, or are separated from family by immigration authorities. All of the sources declined to be named for fear of retaliation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since late July, more than a dozen pregnant minors have been placed at the Texas facility, which is located in the small border city of San Benito. Some were as young as 13, and at least half of those taken in so far became pregnant as a result of rape, sources said. Their pregnancies are considered\u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877575625000722\"> high risk\u003c/a> by definition, particularly for the\u003ca href=\"https://utswmed.org/medblog/early-teen-pregnancy-health-risks/\"> youngest\u003c/a> girls. “This group of kids is clearly recognized as our most vulnerable,” one of the sources said. Rank-and-file staff, the source said, are “losing sleep over it, wondering if kids are going to be placed in programs where they’re not going to have access to the care they need.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The move marks a sharp departure from longstanding federal practice, which placed pregnant, unaccompanied migrant children in ORR shelters or foster homes around the country that are equipped to handle high-risk pregnancies. ORR sources, along with more than a dozen former government officials, health care professionals, migrant advocates and civil rights attorneys, said they worry the Trump administration is putting children in danger at the San Benito shelter to advance an ideological goal: denying them access to abortion by placing them in a state where it’s virtually banned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is 100% and exclusively about abortion,” said Jonathan White, a longtime federal health official who ran ORR’s unaccompanied children program for part of President Donald Trump’s first term. White, who recently retired from the government, said the administration tried and failed to restrict abortion access for unaccompanied minors in 2017. “Now they casually roll out what they brutally fought to accomplish last time and didn’t.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asked via email why the administration is sending pregnant children to San Benito, an HHS spokesperson who asked not to be named wrote that “ORR’s placement decisions are guided by child welfare best practices and are designed to ensure each child is housed in the safest, most developmentally appropriate setting, including for children who are pregnant or parenting.” But several of the ORR officials took issue with the agency’s statement. “ORR is supposed to be a child welfare organization,” one of them said. “Putting pregnant kids in San Benito is not a decision you make when you care about children’s safety.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Firefighters Work With UC on Cancer Research\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Firefighters across the state are wearing air sensors and attaching them to their vehicles. \u003ca href=\"https://health.ucdavis.edu/synthesis/summer-2025/community-outreach/firefighters\">Researchers are using these sensors\u003c/a> to examine their exposure to cancer causing agents in toxic air; they are also looking at their sleep, chemicals in gear, diet, trauma and more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study hopes to deepen our understanding and minimize the cancer risk firefighters face. Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Jamie Gabriel is taking part in the research. “Getting involved in it was really cool for me because now I felt like I had some control over it, and especially as firefighters we like to be in control, we show up to an incident and take control,” Gabriel said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists are sharing the results with fire departments and are hoping to encourage a safety culture that’s backed by research.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cb>Here are the morning’s top stories on Monday, February 16, 2026\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Trump administration is making changes to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12072843/texas-trump-immigration-pregnant-migrants-shelter\">how it treats unaccompanied migrant children who are pregnant\u003c/a>, and that’s raising alarm bells inside the government. Since last July, the administration has been concentrating pregnant kids in one shelter in South Texas, even if they’re apprehended in California or other states. This comes over objections from the government’s own health and child welfare officials. They say neither the facility nor the region can provide the specialized care the girls need. \u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Firefighters across the state \u003ca href=\"https://health.ucdavis.edu/synthesis/summer-2025/community-outreach/firefighters\">are working with scientists\u003c/a> at the University of California to minimize their risk to cancer.\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12072843/texas-trump-immigration-pregnant-migrants-shelter\">\u003cstrong>Trump Administration Sends Pregnant Unaccompanied Minors to Texas Shelter\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/donald-trump\">Trump\u003c/a> administration is sending all pregnant unaccompanied minors apprehended by immigration enforcement to a single group shelter in South Texas. The decision was made over urgent objections from the government’s own health and child welfare officials, who say both the facility and the region lack the specialized care the girls need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s according to seven sources who work at the Office of Refugee Resettlement within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which handles the custody and care of children who cross the border without a parent or legal guardian, or are separated from family by immigration authorities. All of the sources declined to be named for fear of retaliation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since late July, more than a dozen pregnant minors have been placed at the Texas facility, which is located in the small border city of San Benito. Some were as young as 13, and at least half of those taken in so far became pregnant as a result of rape, sources said. Their pregnancies are considered\u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877575625000722\"> high risk\u003c/a> by definition, particularly for the\u003ca href=\"https://utswmed.org/medblog/early-teen-pregnancy-health-risks/\"> youngest\u003c/a> girls. “This group of kids is clearly recognized as our most vulnerable,” one of the sources said. Rank-and-file staff, the source said, are “losing sleep over it, wondering if kids are going to be placed in programs where they’re not going to have access to the care they need.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The move marks a sharp departure from longstanding federal practice, which placed pregnant, unaccompanied migrant children in ORR shelters or foster homes around the country that are equipped to handle high-risk pregnancies. ORR sources, along with more than a dozen former government officials, health care professionals, migrant advocates and civil rights attorneys, said they worry the Trump administration is putting children in danger at the San Benito shelter to advance an ideological goal: denying them access to abortion by placing them in a state where it’s virtually banned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is 100% and exclusively about abortion,” said Jonathan White, a longtime federal health official who ran ORR’s unaccompanied children program for part of President Donald Trump’s first term. White, who recently retired from the government, said the administration tried and failed to restrict abortion access for unaccompanied minors in 2017. “Now they casually roll out what they brutally fought to accomplish last time and didn’t.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asked via email why the administration is sending pregnant children to San Benito, an HHS spokesperson who asked not to be named wrote that “ORR’s placement decisions are guided by child welfare best practices and are designed to ensure each child is housed in the safest, most developmentally appropriate setting, including for children who are pregnant or parenting.” But several of the ORR officials took issue with the agency’s statement. “ORR is supposed to be a child welfare organization,” one of them said. “Putting pregnant kids in San Benito is not a decision you make when you care about children’s safety.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Firefighters Work With UC on Cancer Research\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Firefighters across the state are wearing air sensors and attaching them to their vehicles. \u003ca href=\"https://health.ucdavis.edu/synthesis/summer-2025/community-outreach/firefighters\">Researchers are using these sensors\u003c/a> to examine their exposure to cancer causing agents in toxic air; they are also looking at their sleep, chemicals in gear, diet, trauma and more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study hopes to deepen our understanding and minimize the cancer risk firefighters face. Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Jamie Gabriel is taking part in the research. “Getting involved in it was really cool for me because now I felt like I had some control over it, and especially as firefighters we like to be in control, we show up to an incident and take control,” Gabriel said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists are sharing the results with fire departments and are hoping to encourage a safety culture that’s backed by research.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Advanced prostate cancer cases are rising sharply in California, outpacing national trends, according to a new study from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/ucsf\">UCSF\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The alarming trend underscores the need for smarter screening to catch aggressive cases early without simultaneously triggering care for harmless tumors, experts said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This rise is happening across all ages, ethnicities and regions in California,” said Erin Van Blarigan, a UCSF epidemiologist and the study’s lead author.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Researchers found that between 2011 and 2021, the number of men diagnosed with late-stage prostate cancer increased by 6.7% per year in California — significantly higher than the national rate of 4.5% per year over roughly the same period. The \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2829547?utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_term=012725\">study\u003c/a>, published last week in \u003cem>JAMA Network Open\u003c/em>, also found that after years of decline, prostate cancer mortality rates have stalled in much of the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prostate cancer is the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/understanding-cancer-risk/cancer-facts/cancer-facts-for-men.html#:~:text=Prostate%20cancer%20is%20the%20most,as%20a%20man%20gets%20older.\">most common cancer among men in the U.S.\u003c/a> and a leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Some tumors grow so slowly that they never cause harm, while others spread quickly and require urgent treatment. The go-to screening method — the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test — can’t always tell the difference, which has led to concerns about unnecessary procedures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11974804\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11974804\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/UCSFHealth.jpg\" alt=\"The exterior shot of the UCSF Health building in San Francisco.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/UCSFHealth.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/UCSFHealth-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/UCSFHealth-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/UCSFHealth-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/UCSFHealth-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The outside of UCSF Health in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In 2012, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended stopping routine PSA screenings to prevent unnecessary surgeries and complications. However, in 2018, the panel adjusted its stance, advising men between 55 and 69 to talk with their doctors about screening options. Despite this, Van Blarigan said rates continue to rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We absolutely need to screen — that’s the bottom line,” she said. “But we have to do it smarter.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The UCSF study analyzed nearly 388,000 prostate cancer cases in California from 2004 to 2021. Researchers found that 7.2% of those cases were diagnosed at an advanced stage, where the five-year survival rate drops to just 37%. Over the same period, nearly 59,000 men in California died from the disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12023867 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/BirdFluAP-1020x654.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Central Coast saw the fastest increase in advanced cases, rising 9.1% per year, while the Southern San Joaquin Valley had the slowest rise at 2.3% per year. The highest mortality rates were in the Inland Empire, San Diego-Imperial and North Coast regions, while the San Francisco Bay Area had the lowest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Van Blarigan said the next step is to find out why rates vary geographically.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists are studying advanced imaging technologies and biomarker tests that could help doctors determine a patient’s risk more accurately, reducing the need for one-size-fits-all screening approaches. Van Blarigan emphasized the importance of staying informed and proactive about personal health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s worth asking [your doctor] if a PSA test makes sense for you,” she said. “Then, based on your results, you and your doctor can decide the next steps.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Preventive Services Task Force is reviewing its prostate cancer screening guidelines again, with updates expected soon. In the meantime, California’s rising late-stage diagnoses are a wake-up call: Early detection still matters, and knowing your risks could save your life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Advanced prostate cancer cases are rising sharply in California, outpacing national trends, according to a new study from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/ucsf\">UCSF\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The alarming trend underscores the need for smarter screening to catch aggressive cases early without simultaneously triggering care for harmless tumors, experts said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This rise is happening across all ages, ethnicities and regions in California,” said Erin Van Blarigan, a UCSF epidemiologist and the study’s lead author.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Researchers found that between 2011 and 2021, the number of men diagnosed with late-stage prostate cancer increased by 6.7% per year in California — significantly higher than the national rate of 4.5% per year over roughly the same period. The \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2829547?utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_term=012725\">study\u003c/a>, published last week in \u003cem>JAMA Network Open\u003c/em>, also found that after years of decline, prostate cancer mortality rates have stalled in much of the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prostate cancer is the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/understanding-cancer-risk/cancer-facts/cancer-facts-for-men.html#:~:text=Prostate%20cancer%20is%20the%20most,as%20a%20man%20gets%20older.\">most common cancer among men in the U.S.\u003c/a> and a leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Some tumors grow so slowly that they never cause harm, while others spread quickly and require urgent treatment. The go-to screening method — the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test — can’t always tell the difference, which has led to concerns about unnecessary procedures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11974804\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11974804\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/UCSFHealth.jpg\" alt=\"The exterior shot of the UCSF Health building in San Francisco.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/UCSFHealth.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/UCSFHealth-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/UCSFHealth-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/UCSFHealth-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/UCSFHealth-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The outside of UCSF Health in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In 2012, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended stopping routine PSA screenings to prevent unnecessary surgeries and complications. However, in 2018, the panel adjusted its stance, advising men between 55 and 69 to talk with their doctors about screening options. Despite this, Van Blarigan said rates continue to rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We absolutely need to screen — that’s the bottom line,” she said. “But we have to do it smarter.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The UCSF study analyzed nearly 388,000 prostate cancer cases in California from 2004 to 2021. Researchers found that 7.2% of those cases were diagnosed at an advanced stage, where the five-year survival rate drops to just 37%. Over the same period, nearly 59,000 men in California died from the disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Central Coast saw the fastest increase in advanced cases, rising 9.1% per year, while the Southern San Joaquin Valley had the slowest rise at 2.3% per year. The highest mortality rates were in the Inland Empire, San Diego-Imperial and North Coast regions, while the San Francisco Bay Area had the lowest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Van Blarigan said the next step is to find out why rates vary geographically.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists are studying advanced imaging technologies and biomarker tests that could help doctors determine a patient’s risk more accurately, reducing the need for one-size-fits-all screening approaches. Van Blarigan emphasized the importance of staying informed and proactive about personal health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s worth asking [your doctor] if a PSA test makes sense for you,” she said. “Then, based on your results, you and your doctor can decide the next steps.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Preventive Services Task Force is reviewing its prostate cancer screening guidelines again, with updates expected soon. In the meantime, California’s rising late-stage diagnoses are a wake-up call: Early detection still matters, and knowing your risks could save your life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "bay-area-doctors-warn-cancer-patients-cant-afford-delays-under-trumps-directives",
"title": "Bay Area Doctors Warn Cancer Patients Can’t Afford Delays Under Trump’s Directives",
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"content": "\u003cp>Dr. Adil Daud, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/cancer\">cancer\u003c/a> researcher, is scrambling to keep a critical clinical trial afloat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His team is developing a treatment for mucosal melanoma, a rare and aggressive cancer. In December, they submitted a proposal to the Department of Defense to test a novel checkpoint inhibitor for patients who don’t respond to current immunotherapies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If I can’t secure alternative funding in the next few months, I don’t know if these patients will get a chance,” Daud said. “If you only have a few months to live, a pause in research could mean the difference between accessing a potentially life-saving trial and not having that option at all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Daud and other researchers are caught in the crosshairs of a dizzying number of directives pouring out of the White House.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since taking office, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/donald-trump\">President Donald Trump\u003c/a> has announced plans for the U.S. to withdraw from the World Health Organization, suspended public reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and abruptly halted grant review panels at the National Institutes of Health — all without explanation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, on Monday night, the administration sent further shockwaves through federal agencies, issuing \u003ca href=\"https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/documenttools/da3a3829590efbb7/b0c025ff-full.pdf\">a memo\u003c/a> that halted all federal financial assistance. The order was accompanied by a spreadsheet listing about \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/01/28/upshot/federal-programs-funding-trump-omb.html\">2,600 initiatives\u003c/a> now under review. A federal judge has temporarily paused the directive. By Wednesday morning, the administration \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01/29/us/trump-federal-freeze-funding-news#nih-trials-research\">rescinded the freeze\u003c/a>, according to the \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12023747\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12023747\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/DonaldTrumpEOGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1302\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/DonaldTrumpEOGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/DonaldTrumpEOGetty-800x521.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/DonaldTrumpEOGetty-1020x664.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/DonaldTrumpEOGetty-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/DonaldTrumpEOGetty-1536x1000.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/DonaldTrumpEOGetty-1920x1250.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025. \u003ccite>(Jim Watson/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The disruption coincides with this week’s Senate hearings evaluating Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the NIH.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. Pamela Munster, a cancer researcher, said she has never seen anything like it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve been here since 1992, through multiple presidents — Clinton, Bush, Obama. This is completely new territory,” she said. “Scientific meetings aren’t just paused, halted or delayed like this. Even during COVID, we found ways to continue virtually.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At institutions such as UCSF, where NIH funding supports grants, the consequences could be devastating. In 2023 alone, UCSF received $789 million in NIH funding — more than any other public university in the nation, a distinction it has held for 17 consecutive years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12011885\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12011885 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/3050240908_520abecbfb_o_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1156\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/3050240908_520abecbfb_o_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/3050240908_520abecbfb_o_qed-800x462.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/3050240908_520abecbfb_o_qed-1020x590.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/3050240908_520abecbfb_o_qed-160x92.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/3050240908_520abecbfb_o_qed-1536x888.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/3050240908_520abecbfb_o_qed-1920x1110.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">UCSF, the nation’s top public recipient of NIH funding for 17 years, received $789 million in 2023 — vital support that could face serious consequences if funding is cut. \u003ccite>(Thomas Hawk/Flickr)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s almost like PTSD,” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert. “I’m really activated because it’s all so uncertain. I think it’s leading to confusion, a decrease in morale and chronic stress because you don’t know what’s coming.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Securing NIH funding is grueling, even under normal circumstances. Researchers spend months crafting grant applications that can span hundreds of pages, undergoing rigorous reviews by numerous expert panels. The entire system depends on intricate scheduling and coordination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not easy to just postpone them,” Munster said. “I’m not sure how we make up for these delays.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Adding to the chaos, NIH staff were reportedly instructed to cease communication with external scientists, halt travel to scientific conferences and cancel meetings between researchers and NIH program officers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The University of California is evaluating the deluge of orders issued by Trump and the subsequent agency guidance to understand their potential impact, according to a statement from the Office of the President.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For physician-scientists who split their time between treating patients and conducting research, the instability is particularly concerning. Munster said she and her colleagues translate discoveries from the lab into treatments for patients and bring insights from patient care back to the lab.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12024591 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/DonaldTrumpJanuary6PardonsGetty-1020x686.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re somewhat of an endangered species already,” Munster explained. “I bring a lot of bedside-to-bench expertise. That will be lost if people like me don’t see academic medicine as a viable career path.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Munster predicts more scientists will abandon academia for the private sector, where salaries are often significantly higher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We put our hearts and souls into medical research,” she said. “Don’t get me wrong — I make a decent salary as a physician-scientist. But I could make a lot more money if I went into industry.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kennedy has publicly stated his intent to fire and replace 600 of NIH’s 20,000 employees and shift half of the NIH budget toward “preventive, alternative and holistic approaches to health.” While experts agree lifestyle changes are important, they stress that exercise and nutrition won’t be enough for terminal cancer patients who need breakthrough treatments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. Elad Sharon, an oncologist at Harvard University, likens the current situation to a government shutdown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The reason why there is so much confusion in the scientific community is that there is no purported end date associated with this decision to stop some aspect of grant review and public communication,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While he acknowledges that a short pause may not immediately derail scientific progress, the broader implications of these disruptions raise serious concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Public health agencies like the NIH play a critical role not just in supporting researchers but in addressing the needs of vulnerable populations,” Sharon said. “Without federal support, many critical questions, especially those affecting individuals overlooked by commercial interests, simply won’t be answered.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the more federal health agencies are restricted, the greater the impact on people’s lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We serve the public regardless of political ideology,” Sharon said. “Cancer research shouldn’t be turned on and off based on politics.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Dr. Adil Daud, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/cancer\">cancer\u003c/a> researcher, is scrambling to keep a critical clinical trial afloat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His team is developing a treatment for mucosal melanoma, a rare and aggressive cancer. In December, they submitted a proposal to the Department of Defense to test a novel checkpoint inhibitor for patients who don’t respond to current immunotherapies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If I can’t secure alternative funding in the next few months, I don’t know if these patients will get a chance,” Daud said. “If you only have a few months to live, a pause in research could mean the difference between accessing a potentially life-saving trial and not having that option at all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Daud and other researchers are caught in the crosshairs of a dizzying number of directives pouring out of the White House.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since taking office, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/donald-trump\">President Donald Trump\u003c/a> has announced plans for the U.S. to withdraw from the World Health Organization, suspended public reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and abruptly halted grant review panels at the National Institutes of Health — all without explanation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, on Monday night, the administration sent further shockwaves through federal agencies, issuing \u003ca href=\"https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/documenttools/da3a3829590efbb7/b0c025ff-full.pdf\">a memo\u003c/a> that halted all federal financial assistance. The order was accompanied by a spreadsheet listing about \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/01/28/upshot/federal-programs-funding-trump-omb.html\">2,600 initiatives\u003c/a> now under review. A federal judge has temporarily paused the directive. By Wednesday morning, the administration \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01/29/us/trump-federal-freeze-funding-news#nih-trials-research\">rescinded the freeze\u003c/a>, according to the \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12023747\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12023747\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/DonaldTrumpEOGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1302\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/DonaldTrumpEOGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/DonaldTrumpEOGetty-800x521.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/DonaldTrumpEOGetty-1020x664.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/DonaldTrumpEOGetty-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/DonaldTrumpEOGetty-1536x1000.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/DonaldTrumpEOGetty-1920x1250.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025. \u003ccite>(Jim Watson/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The disruption coincides with this week’s Senate hearings evaluating Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the NIH.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. Pamela Munster, a cancer researcher, said she has never seen anything like it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve been here since 1992, through multiple presidents — Clinton, Bush, Obama. This is completely new territory,” she said. “Scientific meetings aren’t just paused, halted or delayed like this. Even during COVID, we found ways to continue virtually.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At institutions such as UCSF, where NIH funding supports grants, the consequences could be devastating. In 2023 alone, UCSF received $789 million in NIH funding — more than any other public university in the nation, a distinction it has held for 17 consecutive years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12011885\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12011885 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/3050240908_520abecbfb_o_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1156\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/3050240908_520abecbfb_o_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/3050240908_520abecbfb_o_qed-800x462.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/3050240908_520abecbfb_o_qed-1020x590.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/3050240908_520abecbfb_o_qed-160x92.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/3050240908_520abecbfb_o_qed-1536x888.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/3050240908_520abecbfb_o_qed-1920x1110.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">UCSF, the nation’s top public recipient of NIH funding for 17 years, received $789 million in 2023 — vital support that could face serious consequences if funding is cut. \u003ccite>(Thomas Hawk/Flickr)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s almost like PTSD,” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert. “I’m really activated because it’s all so uncertain. I think it’s leading to confusion, a decrease in morale and chronic stress because you don’t know what’s coming.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Securing NIH funding is grueling, even under normal circumstances. Researchers spend months crafting grant applications that can span hundreds of pages, undergoing rigorous reviews by numerous expert panels. The entire system depends on intricate scheduling and coordination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not easy to just postpone them,” Munster said. “I’m not sure how we make up for these delays.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Adding to the chaos, NIH staff were reportedly instructed to cease communication with external scientists, halt travel to scientific conferences and cancel meetings between researchers and NIH program officers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The University of California is evaluating the deluge of orders issued by Trump and the subsequent agency guidance to understand their potential impact, according to a statement from the Office of the President.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For physician-scientists who split their time between treating patients and conducting research, the instability is particularly concerning. Munster said she and her colleagues translate discoveries from the lab into treatments for patients and bring insights from patient care back to the lab.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re somewhat of an endangered species already,” Munster explained. “I bring a lot of bedside-to-bench expertise. That will be lost if people like me don’t see academic medicine as a viable career path.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Munster predicts more scientists will abandon academia for the private sector, where salaries are often significantly higher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We put our hearts and souls into medical research,” she said. “Don’t get me wrong — I make a decent salary as a physician-scientist. But I could make a lot more money if I went into industry.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kennedy has publicly stated his intent to fire and replace 600 of NIH’s 20,000 employees and shift half of the NIH budget toward “preventive, alternative and holistic approaches to health.” While experts agree lifestyle changes are important, they stress that exercise and nutrition won’t be enough for terminal cancer patients who need breakthrough treatments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. Elad Sharon, an oncologist at Harvard University, likens the current situation to a government shutdown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The reason why there is so much confusion in the scientific community is that there is no purported end date associated with this decision to stop some aspect of grant review and public communication,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While he acknowledges that a short pause may not immediately derail scientific progress, the broader implications of these disruptions raise serious concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Public health agencies like the NIH play a critical role not just in supporting researchers but in addressing the needs of vulnerable populations,” Sharon said. “Without federal support, many critical questions, especially those affecting individuals overlooked by commercial interests, simply won’t be answered.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the more federal health agencies are restricted, the greater the impact on people’s lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We serve the public regardless of political ideology,” Sharon said. “Cancer research shouldn’t be turned on and off based on politics.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "why-its-time-to-ditch-your-black-plastic-cookware",
"title": "Why It's Time to Ditch Your Black Plastic Cookware",
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"headTitle": "Why It’s Time to Ditch Your Black Plastic Cookware | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Soon after journalist Zoë Schlanger wrote the piece “\u003ca href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2024/10/black-plastic-spatula-flame-retardants/680452/\">Throw Out Your Black Plastic Spatula\u003c/a>” in The Atlantic at the end of October, dozens of other news outlets ran their own versions of her story, all with the same recommendation: \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101907913/how-freaked-out-should-we-be-about-black-plastic\">avoid using black plastic utensils in your kitchen\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schlanger points to the years of research that show high levels of \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160412018302125\">flame retardants\u003c/a> in these objects. When exposed to high temperatures during cooking, these chemicals leak from the utensils into whatever food you’re preparing. And once ingested, flame retardants can mess with how your body regulates itself: many are considered endocrine disruptors, which means they mess with your hormones — the tools your body uses to regulate your organs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But throwing out black kitchen utensils may not be enough. Schlanger’s reporting — and research coming out of Stanford’s \u003ca href=\"https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2022/05/four-questions-desiree-labeaud\">School of Medicine\u003c/a> — suggest that plastic, being an integral part of our lives, could have bigger health hazards than previously imagined. In November, KQED’s Forum spoke to Schlanger and Stanford’s Desiree LaBeaud, an infectious disease physician who leads the university’s plastic working group, to learn how we as individuals can respond to the risks brought upon by the plastic objects in our lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keep reading for the takeaways from their conversation with KQED’s Lesley McClurg, including helpful strategies to reduce our dependence on plastic in our homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Skip ahead to:\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cb>\u003ca href=\"#1\">I’ve used plastic utensils my whole life. Why are they risky now?\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cb>\u003ca href=\"#2\">Are all plastic utensils — regardless of their color — bad for you?\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cb>\u003ca href=\"#3\">Beyond freaking out, how can I apply this information in my life?\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cb>\u003ca href=\"#4\">What are some alternatives to plastic kitchen utensils?\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca id=\"1\">\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003cb>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/b> Why are there flame retardants in my black plastic scraper?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Zoë Schlanger:\u003c/strong> They were never meant to be there. That’s not where flame retardants are supposed to be. But unfortunately, black plastic is one of these compounds that tend to be entering the product stream from recycled material. And the thing that does have flame retardants in it are electronics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m looking at a computer monitor right now with a black plastic casing that probably has flame retardants in it. My black plastic keyboard also has flame retardants. And due to demands for black plastic in kitchen objects, sometimes those materials get recycled into kitchen objects or toys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12016615\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12016615\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0030-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0030-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0030-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0030-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0030-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0030-1920x1279.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0030.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The photographer’s black plastic-tipped tongs, photographed in Oakland on Dec. 4, 2024. Black plastic utensils leach toxic chemicals, so it’s time to ditch all of your plastic utensils — including the black spatula. The black plastic utensils were discarded after the photo shoot. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>In my mind, it makes sense that a computer, television or keyboard might have flame retardants, but why would the e-waste from those items be recycled and then made into spatulas or kids’ toys?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Schlanger: \u003c/strong>This is due to a wrinkle in the global recycling industry, where our recycling plants use optical sensors. These sensors see the plastic that’s coming through the recycling plants, but they can’t see the color black. Typically, in countries where recycling is quite regulated, black plastic never gets recycled. That means there’s this dearth — this lack of a supply — of black plastic from recycled material in the consumer stream.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When someone wants to make a black plastic spatula, they might have to look farther afield. And global plastic recycling is just that: a global phenomenon. There’s not a lot of oversight, particularly overseas. That’s how you end up with recycled e-waste entering the product stream in ways it really shouldn’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>So, this is a supply and demand issue. We don’t have enough recycled black plastic to make these items?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Schlanger: \u003c/strong>For some reason, there’s been an aesthetic choice that says we want our spatulas, in particular, to be black. Another way this shows up a lot is in takeout containers. Those tend to be black for no discernible reason that I can tell. If it’s a black plastic, it is potentially full of flame retardants from the same e-waste stream.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When plastic comes in contact with heat, it starts to degrade. Or when it comes in contact with something fatty — let’s say, the cream in my coffee or the oil in your pan. Plastic components or components of plastic that are hazardous for our health are also lipophilic, meaning they are attracted to fat and they can transfer quite easily into fat. When you’re applying heat or oil fats to your plastic, it’s just encouraging those problematic compounds to enter your food or your mouth or the environment in different ways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>I don’t want to be putting flame retardants in my body. But what does the actual health research say are the health concerns or risks that could happen if I do consume this stuff?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Schlanger: \u003c/strong>The research on flame retardants is pretty clear. Many of them are considered endocrine disruptors, meaning they mess with your hormone system, which can have all these knock-on effects. Thyroid disease is a problem with flame retardants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And it’s not just flame retardants. It’s also a group of chemicals broadly called plasticizers, like phthalates, which people may have heard about. These are added to plastic to make them flexible or soft. And they readily migrate out of the plastic because they’re not completely bound to the polymer molecule. With heat, use or wear, they can migrate out of that polymer chain and into your food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"2\">\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>We’re getting quite a few questions from listeners. One writes: ‘What about blue plastic? Yellow? Green? What about these other colors?’\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Schlanger: \u003c/strong>All plastic is not something you want to be cooking with. I think that any expert would say that to you. Those other colors are not likely to come from an electronic waste stream just because of how many electronics are black. Maybe flame retardants would be less of an issue in those plastics. But there’s other things in plastics that you want to be wary about.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What do we know about silicone? Is it much better? Is it also dangerous?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Schlanger: \u003c/strong>What we know right now is that silicone is much better. It’s not plastic. It’s made of silica, an entirely different compound. And it does not form microparticles or nanoparticles in the way plastic does. There’s some concern for cheap silicone as it sometimes can contain chemical fillers. This is not something where there’s a lot of oversight. But if it’s mostly just a silicone object, you’re good.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>For folks who might not be familiar, what are microplastics and why are they bad? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Desiree LaBeaud: \u003c/strong>All the plastic that we have in our lives slowly breaks down into smaller and smaller bits. And those teeny bits are called microplastics. And we ingest these plastics supposedly at the rate of a credit card of plastic a week. And we also inhale them because a lot of plastic is actually burned in the world to deal with the waste crisis or through wildfires and so forth, or even just the house dust in our homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When that plastic gets into our bodies, it impacts our bodies in all sorts of ways. And there’s been a lot of research to show that microplastics and even the smaller, finer plastics, which are called nanoplastics, can lead to a lot of different health effects through impairing the way that our cells function: the biochemistry, the energy, the way that our organs develop. Even carcinogenesis, which is the development of cancer. All of that can come from these microplastics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A listener calls in to ask: “What about Legos?”\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>LaBeaud:\u003c/strong> Legos are made of very, very, very hard, durable plastic. Some types of plastic are going to break down more than others. And Legos are at ambient temperature. They’re not being heated up. I don’t think you need to go and throw away all your Legos at this time. It’s just like we keep saying: It’s about the dose. You choose your Legos, but you don’t heat up your plastic and cook it in hot oil, right?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"3\">\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>How freaked out should I be? How should I respond to this information?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Schlanger:\u003c/strong> For me, it goes back to this idea of lowering your dose. There’s only a few [environments] in our lives that we can control. And one of those is our kitchens. It actually brings me some measure of comfort to say, ‘All right, I can just have a stainless steel spatula. I can choose to use fewer plastic takeout containers. And all of these things are tiny little things I’m doing for my overall health.’ It doesn’t have to be overwhelming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12016619\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12016619\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0147-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0147-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0147-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0147-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0147-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0147-1920x1279.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0147.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The photographer’s black plastic utensils at the bottom of the trash bin in Oakland on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. Black plastic utensils leach toxic chemicals, so it’s time to ditch all of your plastic utensils — including the black spatula. The black plastic utensils were discarded after the photo shoot. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Does the body rid itself or detox from plastics? If you take yourself off plastics, does the body do a good job of getting these things out of your body?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>LaBeaud:\u003c/strong> As humans, we have three different things we can do [to get rid of toxins in our bodies]: we pee, poo and sweat. And this is the way that we release all sorts of different toxins that we come in contact with through our food or environment. That’s the natural process … but we don’t rid ourselves of all of the plastic. Some of it ends up somehow in our body tissues, which is what more and more research is finding, and that is harder for us to get rid of.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"4\">\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>Where would you suggest people start if they want to start having less plastic in their lives?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>LaBeaud: \u003c/strong>Your kitchen is the first place to start … if you’re heating up your plastic, you don’t want to be. You’d rather be using something else like glass or ceramic. Your pots, pans and utensils are a good start. Try and replace the nonstick coating with something else that isn’t going to leach chemicals into your food. Replace those utensils. When we’re heating up our food in the microwave with Tupperware, that now should be replaced with glass. Instead of single-use plastic water bottles, we can filter our water and then just put it in a glass bottle or a metal bottle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When we start to consume and choose products that are not in plastic, the industry will respond, and we’ll start to put more things back into recyclable containers, things that are actually truly recyclable.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "Why It's Time to Ditch Your Black Plastic Cookware | KQED",
"description": "Soon after journalist Zoë Schlanger wrote the piece “Throw Out Your Black Plastic Spatula” in The Atlantic at the end of October, dozens of other news outlets ran their own versions of her story, all with the same recommendation: avoid using black plastic utensils in your kitchen. Schlanger points to the years of research that",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Soon after journalist Zoë Schlanger wrote the piece “\u003ca href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2024/10/black-plastic-spatula-flame-retardants/680452/\">Throw Out Your Black Plastic Spatula\u003c/a>” in The Atlantic at the end of October, dozens of other news outlets ran their own versions of her story, all with the same recommendation: \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101907913/how-freaked-out-should-we-be-about-black-plastic\">avoid using black plastic utensils in your kitchen\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schlanger points to the years of research that show high levels of \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160412018302125\">flame retardants\u003c/a> in these objects. When exposed to high temperatures during cooking, these chemicals leak from the utensils into whatever food you’re preparing. And once ingested, flame retardants can mess with how your body regulates itself: many are considered endocrine disruptors, which means they mess with your hormones — the tools your body uses to regulate your organs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But throwing out black kitchen utensils may not be enough. Schlanger’s reporting — and research coming out of Stanford’s \u003ca href=\"https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2022/05/four-questions-desiree-labeaud\">School of Medicine\u003c/a> — suggest that plastic, being an integral part of our lives, could have bigger health hazards than previously imagined. In November, KQED’s Forum spoke to Schlanger and Stanford’s Desiree LaBeaud, an infectious disease physician who leads the university’s plastic working group, to learn how we as individuals can respond to the risks brought upon by the plastic objects in our lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keep reading for the takeaways from their conversation with KQED’s Lesley McClurg, including helpful strategies to reduce our dependence on plastic in our homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Skip ahead to:\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cb>\u003ca href=\"#1\">I’ve used plastic utensils my whole life. Why are they risky now?\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cb>\u003ca href=\"#2\">Are all plastic utensils — regardless of their color — bad for you?\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cb>\u003ca href=\"#3\">Beyond freaking out, how can I apply this information in my life?\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cb>\u003ca href=\"#4\">What are some alternatives to plastic kitchen utensils?\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca id=\"1\">\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003cb>Lesley McClurg:\u003c/b> Why are there flame retardants in my black plastic scraper?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Zoë Schlanger:\u003c/strong> They were never meant to be there. That’s not where flame retardants are supposed to be. But unfortunately, black plastic is one of these compounds that tend to be entering the product stream from recycled material. And the thing that does have flame retardants in it are electronics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m looking at a computer monitor right now with a black plastic casing that probably has flame retardants in it. My black plastic keyboard also has flame retardants. And due to demands for black plastic in kitchen objects, sometimes those materials get recycled into kitchen objects or toys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12016615\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12016615\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0030-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0030-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0030-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0030-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0030-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0030-1920x1279.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0030.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The photographer’s black plastic-tipped tongs, photographed in Oakland on Dec. 4, 2024. Black plastic utensils leach toxic chemicals, so it’s time to ditch all of your plastic utensils — including the black spatula. The black plastic utensils were discarded after the photo shoot. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>In my mind, it makes sense that a computer, television or keyboard might have flame retardants, but why would the e-waste from those items be recycled and then made into spatulas or kids’ toys?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Schlanger: \u003c/strong>This is due to a wrinkle in the global recycling industry, where our recycling plants use optical sensors. These sensors see the plastic that’s coming through the recycling plants, but they can’t see the color black. Typically, in countries where recycling is quite regulated, black plastic never gets recycled. That means there’s this dearth — this lack of a supply — of black plastic from recycled material in the consumer stream.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When someone wants to make a black plastic spatula, they might have to look farther afield. And global plastic recycling is just that: a global phenomenon. There’s not a lot of oversight, particularly overseas. That’s how you end up with recycled e-waste entering the product stream in ways it really shouldn’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>So, this is a supply and demand issue. We don’t have enough recycled black plastic to make these items?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Schlanger: \u003c/strong>For some reason, there’s been an aesthetic choice that says we want our spatulas, in particular, to be black. Another way this shows up a lot is in takeout containers. Those tend to be black for no discernible reason that I can tell. If it’s a black plastic, it is potentially full of flame retardants from the same e-waste stream.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When plastic comes in contact with heat, it starts to degrade. Or when it comes in contact with something fatty — let’s say, the cream in my coffee or the oil in your pan. Plastic components or components of plastic that are hazardous for our health are also lipophilic, meaning they are attracted to fat and they can transfer quite easily into fat. When you’re applying heat or oil fats to your plastic, it’s just encouraging those problematic compounds to enter your food or your mouth or the environment in different ways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>I don’t want to be putting flame retardants in my body. But what does the actual health research say are the health concerns or risks that could happen if I do consume this stuff?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Schlanger: \u003c/strong>The research on flame retardants is pretty clear. Many of them are considered endocrine disruptors, meaning they mess with your hormone system, which can have all these knock-on effects. Thyroid disease is a problem with flame retardants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And it’s not just flame retardants. It’s also a group of chemicals broadly called plasticizers, like phthalates, which people may have heard about. These are added to plastic to make them flexible or soft. And they readily migrate out of the plastic because they’re not completely bound to the polymer molecule. With heat, use or wear, they can migrate out of that polymer chain and into your food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"2\">\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>We’re getting quite a few questions from listeners. One writes: ‘What about blue plastic? Yellow? Green? What about these other colors?’\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Schlanger: \u003c/strong>All plastic is not something you want to be cooking with. I think that any expert would say that to you. Those other colors are not likely to come from an electronic waste stream just because of how many electronics are black. Maybe flame retardants would be less of an issue in those plastics. But there’s other things in plastics that you want to be wary about.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What do we know about silicone? Is it much better? Is it also dangerous?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Schlanger: \u003c/strong>What we know right now is that silicone is much better. It’s not plastic. It’s made of silica, an entirely different compound. And it does not form microparticles or nanoparticles in the way plastic does. There’s some concern for cheap silicone as it sometimes can contain chemical fillers. This is not something where there’s a lot of oversight. But if it’s mostly just a silicone object, you’re good.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>For folks who might not be familiar, what are microplastics and why are they bad? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Desiree LaBeaud: \u003c/strong>All the plastic that we have in our lives slowly breaks down into smaller and smaller bits. And those teeny bits are called microplastics. And we ingest these plastics supposedly at the rate of a credit card of plastic a week. And we also inhale them because a lot of plastic is actually burned in the world to deal with the waste crisis or through wildfires and so forth, or even just the house dust in our homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When that plastic gets into our bodies, it impacts our bodies in all sorts of ways. And there’s been a lot of research to show that microplastics and even the smaller, finer plastics, which are called nanoplastics, can lead to a lot of different health effects through impairing the way that our cells function: the biochemistry, the energy, the way that our organs develop. Even carcinogenesis, which is the development of cancer. All of that can come from these microplastics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A listener calls in to ask: “What about Legos?”\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>LaBeaud:\u003c/strong> Legos are made of very, very, very hard, durable plastic. Some types of plastic are going to break down more than others. And Legos are at ambient temperature. They’re not being heated up. I don’t think you need to go and throw away all your Legos at this time. It’s just like we keep saying: It’s about the dose. You choose your Legos, but you don’t heat up your plastic and cook it in hot oil, right?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"3\">\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>How freaked out should I be? How should I respond to this information?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Schlanger:\u003c/strong> For me, it goes back to this idea of lowering your dose. There’s only a few [environments] in our lives that we can control. And one of those is our kitchens. It actually brings me some measure of comfort to say, ‘All right, I can just have a stainless steel spatula. I can choose to use fewer plastic takeout containers. And all of these things are tiny little things I’m doing for my overall health.’ It doesn’t have to be overwhelming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12016619\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12016619\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0147-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0147-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0147-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0147-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0147-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0147-1920x1279.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/12/241204-Black-Plastic-Utensils-DMB-0147.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The photographer’s black plastic utensils at the bottom of the trash bin in Oakland on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. Black plastic utensils leach toxic chemicals, so it’s time to ditch all of your plastic utensils — including the black spatula. The black plastic utensils were discarded after the photo shoot. \u003ccite>(David M. Barreda/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Does the body rid itself or detox from plastics? If you take yourself off plastics, does the body do a good job of getting these things out of your body?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>LaBeaud:\u003c/strong> As humans, we have three different things we can do [to get rid of toxins in our bodies]: we pee, poo and sweat. And this is the way that we release all sorts of different toxins that we come in contact with through our food or environment. That’s the natural process … but we don’t rid ourselves of all of the plastic. Some of it ends up somehow in our body tissues, which is what more and more research is finding, and that is harder for us to get rid of.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"4\">\u003c/a>\u003cstrong>Where would you suggest people start if they want to start having less plastic in their lives?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>LaBeaud: \u003c/strong>Your kitchen is the first place to start … if you’re heating up your plastic, you don’t want to be. You’d rather be using something else like glass or ceramic. Your pots, pans and utensils are a good start. Try and replace the nonstick coating with something else that isn’t going to leach chemicals into your food. Replace those utensils. When we’re heating up our food in the microwave with Tupperware, that now should be replaced with glass. Instead of single-use plastic water bottles, we can filter our water and then just put it in a glass bottle or a metal bottle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When we start to consume and choose products that are not in plastic, the industry will respond, and we’ll start to put more things back into recyclable containers, things that are actually truly recyclable.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "californias-rural-communities-struggle-for-clean-drinking-water-amid-contamination-crisis",
"title": "California's Rural Communities Struggle for Clean Drinking Water Amid Contamination Crisis",
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"headTitle": "California’s Rural Communities Struggle for Clean Drinking Water Amid Contamination Crisis | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>In a major milestone, state regulators \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/press_room/press_releases/2024/pr20240722-safer-5-year-event.pdf\">announced in July that nearly a million more Californians\u003c/a> now have safe drinking water than five years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, across the state, the problem remains severe: More than \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/saferdashboard.html\">735,000 people are still served by the nearly 400 water systems\u003c/a> that fail to meet state requirements for safe and reliable drinking water. Latino farm communities struggling with poverty and pollution \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/documents/needs/2024/2024-needs-assessment.pdf\">are especially hard-hit\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About three-quarters of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/saferdashboard.html\">failing systems in California\u003c/a> have violated \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/documents/ccr/mcls_epa_vs_dwp.pdf\">state or federal standards for contaminants\u003c/a> that are linked to serious health problems, such as cancer and effects on developing babies, according to a CalMatters analysis of state data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among the most pervasive contaminants are arsenic, nitrate and a chemical called 1,2,3-trichloropropane, or 1,2,3-TCP. Combined, elevated levels of these chemicals contaminate more than 220 failing systems serving nearly half a million people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unsafe drinking water is a chronic, insidious and sometimes hidden problem in a state where attention is more often focused on shortages than the quality of the water. The failing systems are clustered in rural farm areas that have experienced decades of groundwater contamination. Many residents are afraid to drink tap water or even bathe their children in it, relying on bottled water instead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is morally outrageous that we can’t provide the level of basic human rights that people need and that it’s primarily low-income communities of color who are facing these disparate impacts,” said Kyle Jones, policy and legal director with the Community Water Center, a nonprofit group. “While the state’s made a lot of good progress … more needs to be done.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/w55cl/20/\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Twelve years ago, California became the first state to recognize \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/hr2w/\">clean, safe, affordable and accessible drinking water as a human right\u003c/a>. In 2019, Legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom approved \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB200\">a law\u003c/a> that gave rise to the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/grants_loans/sustainable_water_solutions/safer.html\">Safe and Affordable Funding program.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, about 98% of Californians are served by water systems that meet state standards, and over \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/press_room/press_releases/2024/pr20240722-safer-5-year-event.pdf\">$1 billion in state grants have helped disadvantaged communities\u003c/a> tackle drinking water problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But despite all the systems that have been removed from the state’s failing list, about 600 others serving 1.6 million people are \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/saferdashboard.html\">at risk of failure,\u003c/a> and more than 400 others serving another 1.6 million are deemed “potentially at risk.”\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have continuing degradation of groundwater from all our human activities — farming, industry, drought itself with our climate change,” said Darrin Polhemus, deputy director of the State Water Resources Control Board and head of its Division of Drinking Water. “We’re seeing the dawn of a new age where treatment is required on almost all our groundwater sources, and these small communities are not prepared for what that means.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ensuring safe and reliable drinking water for all Californians will \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/documents/needs/2024/2024-needs-assessment.pdf\">cost about $16 billion, according to a recent state analysis\u003c/a>. However, the state water board projects that it has only $2 billion available for grants in communities and $1.5 billion for loans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Suppliers that violate drinking water standards are required to notify residents and reduce their exposure, often by treating or blending water supplies. State regulators are pushing for long-term fixes, like consolidating some smaller suppliers with bigger systems nearby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state auditor lambasted California water officials two years ago for “\u003ca href=\"https://information.auditor.ca.gov/reports/2021-118/index.html\">a lack of urgency,\u003c/a>” pointing to lengthy funding timelines and other problems. But \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2024/06/california-drinking-water-failing-systems/\">infrastructure takes time\u003c/a> and advanced planning, which is a struggle for smaller water systems, state officials say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Violations “can be resolved in a matter of days, or it can take years,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/docs/2023/annual-compliance-report-2023.pdf\">according to a 2023 water board report\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some water providers, such as in the town of Lamont in Kern County, are poised to fix their water problems with \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/press_room/press_releases/2023/pr021323-lamont.pdf\">millions of dollars in state funding\u003c/a>. Other, smaller communities, like Allensworth in Tulare County and San Lucas on the Central Coast, have been waiting for clean water for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, rural residents are left to weigh the risks flowing through their taps for themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re pretty much playing Russian Roulette,” said Tequita Jefferson, a longtime resident of Pixley, where the \u003ca href=\"https://pixleypud.specialdistrict.org/files/e060ed1f4/123+TCP+2024+Quater+2.pdf\">water system has elevated levels of the chemical 1,2,3-TCP\u003c/a>, which has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/water_issues/programs/ilp/docs/123tcp_factsheet_2022.pdf\">linked to cancer\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It scares me. All of it scares me,” Jefferson said. “And then no one thinks about it. Here, we’re in a rural community, and people have a tendency to overlook us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>In this small town, pesticide residue is the culprit\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>In the San Joaquin Valley community of Pixley, home to about 3,800 people, the jobs are rooted in agriculture — and so are the water problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Widespread use of soil fumigants \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/water_issues/programs/ilp/docs/123tcp_factsheet_2022.pdf\">starting in the 1950s\u003c/a> contaminated Central Valley groundwater with 1,2,3-TCP, which is an impurity in those fumigants and is also used as an industrial solvent. Though the fumigants were pulled \u003ca href=\"https://rbwaterlaw.com/tcp-litigation/\">from the market or reformulated\u003c/a> in California \u003ca href=\"https://digital.sandiego.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1198&context=crlr\">by the 1990s\u003c/a>, elevated levels continue to taint the water in wells throughout \u003ca href=\"https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/271800/1-s2.0-S0048969719X00145/1-s2.0-S0048969719314317/am.pdf?X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEPX%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FwEaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJGMEQCIAq8BCN1SIlQc%2FH%2BCav5Uss9VWF3VxslAZeOwNXe71sDAiAIKCNIQBXcdFEdBN2hotfzrOgGafbCKROe86FKZ8Oyliq8BQjt%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F8BEAUaDDA1OTAwMzU0Njg2NSIMvoEiTR3%2BejzigkCEKpAFxEjdOKL56DXlUVbOtjqfPDQSA%2F5l13XCiqUzR0raPHWODqNP3rwQWvx2dtqbhXtvcnkMReuAbllXAGQA9FugUlhLfmN%2BPYCJ6fqaaBx7yjAWu7vJyxoPtYadQpgC1YHGfc1nlgAvibyYvWivWx76njmTM%2FXpzRVrQTl7a%2FahqPQGtxI3B02vmuSmpKA%2FjMz85EfHmOjUbzgkx6XpLIa%2BmM0t6Mk1whVrsu%2Fldsogq7XaO%2Fh1csm%2FW3WyO9BgxBsELjf5fvH3TNp4ZtYBvJfEE5Dx7FXOE30%2BSvv2o1ei8X6Fj31vTlIRIYT99Ku98yIScnRQLeC30kUPMpXwUkqeErc1FGbaKL7WgL6Piqkp5ofVGy5R5zkcHDR38PrhatYdbDk9s4f5RyfTje9AkTlUAV4yIadvt0DQxOFSMpQ5E6iyWvxUf5NihqB11EJxTANF3hndKL7Uqsqwzd%2BYUxwFZm3Pwg3BDQ%2BSsPtHjMfTwe7gmzB3KSAMRTfVCwg6r8qZ6n1s7vhg714%2BouNYbUasgRYcF4jEGGEqtH%2FmkZ3NDFf6DK1B9p1tIwpCnkWRFFJJfWdzDxCvn6PIpJ4OoqTLTe5h2zAn0aur4kJxC9BBSjOLGvDgdyjADnzVrKgMTd0Cq%2Bto4Asb6qFi5JiUh%2FwnVzBgvX%2BPWoNP2KYkmxgrqJ4TC4aYtQKDLbPqe66pyBIxZ4hkMwQIDV0SLqZXSzE94fVhR7jiWQyWNGgHASFbWTr%2BuqzJAmX6%2BBLpNIG0cFZuU3cWnPcwTYxSIGyKDiMltnHBJKiGn%2Fbuz9G1vgXfxmipWEs1%2F2zPPfwBZCeee5jJYM9BpkPatzZzZ4eXNogQk0pJu%2FwZopHhlTHH3Ot7MqUwgof9tQY6sgFhnET1naPVN03CLAu5xeodO1jc%2BSNSQT8zr8iGKI0tgiwBEKWSd%2B6evCEkh%2Bwq4gwhna1anZpqr5sA882qSpVn0c3nfJX6uhyqQqXSU1vdkQGOYkynX%2Bh6PyAWty5fLR6Dwgc%2BJe22oBDuJyoZg3lYAmraUPjWbMQO8ZquMiFVcyLgi%2FcKxbscIaaEO6cPcWRDAh%2FpXGiNoFpqtauVUk3pdsu2BDPZLLWPRoisRC2hR%2Fqz&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20240816T133350Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAQ3PHCVTYYPKLKU5J%2F20240816%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=48a487247d845e02581dd879c8c76c8a4b24023605a1d08576b500dffe253e66&hash=b1fdd300fa31e21ecb13e4ed333823ef2ffbd60a01762d1a11b6a3b12f6d9ec3&host=68042c943591013ac2b2430a89b270f6af2c76d8dfd086a07176afe7c76c2c61&pii=S0048969719314317&tid=pdf-499f6c17-6bc4-401a-b80d-f25c1cb118b9&sid=2a0f6eef29aba64a5f8a4ec8568fba479b56gxrqa&type=client\">the San Joaquin Valley\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the absence of federal standards, state regulators \u003ca href=\"https://www.slenvironment.com/blog/1-2-3-tcp-in-drinking-water-strategies-for-groundwater-remediation\">set the most stringent drinking water limits\u003c/a> for the chemical in the country in 2017.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The chemical has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp57.pdf\">linked to cancers in animal studies\u003c/a>. People can be exposed to 1,2,3-TCP by drinking it, cooking with it and \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/water_issues/programs/ilp/docs/123tcp_factsheet_2022.pdf\">breathing in vapor\u003c/a> from household water use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christina Velazquez, who has lived in Pixley for 44 years and had her own brush with cancer, estimates that she spends at least $30 per month to buy filters and water bottles on top of her water and sewer bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12003794\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_04.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12003794\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_04.jpg\" alt=\"A woman wearing a green and black shirt points to dishes in a kitchen sink.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_04.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_04-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_04-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_04-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_04-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_04-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Christina Velazquez runs the water at the highest pressure it can go in the kitchen of her home in Pixley on Sept. 4, 2024. Velazquez doesn’t let her family drink the water due to tainted water in the local wells. \u003ccite>(Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“That’s what I make my grandkids drink — I won’t let them drink the water from the faucet,” Velasquez said. “We shouldn’t have to buy water when we’re already paying for it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12003793\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_02.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12003793\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_02.jpg\" alt=\"Water filters sit on a kitchen counter.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_02.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_02-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_02-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_02-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_02-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_02-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Christina Velazquez shows the different filters she uses to clean her water in the kitchen of her home in Pixley on Sept. 4, 2024. \u003ccite>(Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Pixley received $11.5 million from pesticide manufacturers in 2021 to settle a lawsuit about the contamination, according to attorney Chad Lew, counsel for the Pixley Public Utility District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But \u003ca href=\"https://pixleypud.specialdistrict.org/seat-1-david-g-terrel-jr-vice-president\">David Terrel,\u003c/a> a teacher and vice president of the district’s board, said there still isn’t enough funding to fix the contamination problem. “If we could handle it on our own, we would be doing that,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pixley is holding out hope for a construction grant from the state. The district has received about $750,000 for planning and technical assistance, as well as for installing filtered-water vending machines, according to a state database.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/sZ2i2/12/\" width=\"800\" height=\"850\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other water systems also have \u003ca href=\"https://rbwaterlaw.com/tcp-litigation/\">won large payouts from pesticide manufacturers\u003c/a>. Fresno, for instance, \u003ca href=\"https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article290692809.html\">received $230 million in a recent case\u003c/a>. But Polhemus, with the state’s Division of Drinking Water, said these settlements are rarely enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re still pretty broken when it comes to corporate responsibility for wide-scale pollution,” Polhemus said. The money will “last for a decade or two, but what about the third and fourth and fifth decade, when they’re still dealing with that contaminant?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Lamont, about an hour south of Pixley near Bakersfield, the failure of one well \u003ca href=\"https://www.lpud.org/about-us\">forced more than 18,200\u003c/a> people to rely more heavily on a well contaminated with elevated levels of 1,2,3-TCP.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lamont Public Utility District General Manager Scott Taylor said a fix is already in the works, thanks to a new well built with state funds. Another \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/press_room/press_releases/2023/pr021323-lamont.pdf\">$25.4 million grant from the water board \u003c/a>will help Lamont install three new wells to provide water to Lamont and a smaller arsenic-plagued system nearby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Without the state help, what would we have done? Honestly, I don’t have a clue. And I’m glad I don’t have to find out,” Taylor said. “We don’t have $30 million laying around.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>In Allensworth, arsenic is a decadeslong problem\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Just 20 minutes away from Pixley, \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/campaigns/allensworth.html\">in Allensworth\u003c/a>, Sherry Hunter keeps catching herself running the tap to brush her teeth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tiny Tulare County community of about 530 people, \u003ca href=\"https://data.census.gov/profile/Allensworth_CDP,_California?g=160XX00US0601010\">93% of them Latino\u003c/a>, has struggled with arsenic leaching \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/5views/5views2h7.htm\">into its wells for decades\u003c/a>, one of which still \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/docs/2024/allensworth-slides.pdf\">regularly exceeds state health limits\u003c/a>. And the crisis keeps worsening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12003796\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_15.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12003796\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_15.jpg\" alt=\"A Black woman wearing a gray shirt holds a tool to water a plant in a living room.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_15.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_15-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_15-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_15-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_15-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_15-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sherry Hunter waters her plants in her living room in Allensworth on Sept.4, 2024. The community of Allensworth has been dealing with an ongoing issue of arsenic leaking into its wells, one of which consistently exceeds state health limits. \u003ccite>(Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Drinking arsenic-contaminated water over a long period of time \u003ca href=\"https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/arsenic\">can cause cancers\u003c/a> and has been linked with fetal deaths and \u003ca href=\"https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/PHS/PHS.aspx?phsid=18&toxid=3\">malformations in test animals,\u003c/a> as well as harm to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221499961400304X\">developing brains of babies and young children\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Arsenic is found naturally in rocks and soils throughout California, though it is worsened by \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-04475-3#:~:text=Arsenic%20has%20been%20transported%20to,for%20millions%20of%20years14.\">groundwater over-pumping to irrigate farm fields\u003c/a> in the San Joaquin Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Allensworth Community Services District, where Hunter serves as president, has tried to reduce the contamination by blending in water from a less tainted well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in July, both wells failed because of suspected electrical issues, according to the nonprofit Self-Help Enterprises. Though the more contaminated well was brought back online, it, too, began sputtering out in August — leaving residents with either arsenic-contaminated water or no water at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Farmworkers living in Allensworth found themselves unable to shower after long days in the heat, Hunter said. “It’s a horrible feeling … We don’t have rich people that live in Allensworth.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Communities of \u003ca href=\"https://data.census.gov/profile/Allensworth_CDP,_California?g=160XX00US0601010\">color like Allensworth\u003c/a> are \u003ca href=\"https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1476-069X-11-84#Sec18\">more likely to be served by water systems that violate state and federal limits for the contaminant\u003c/a>, according to UC Berkeley researchers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12003795\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_11.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12003795\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_11.jpg\" alt=\"Cases of bottle water on the floor next to a black chair and curtains in a room.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_11.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_11-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_11-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_11-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_11-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_11-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cases of water Sherry Hunter collects in her home in Allensworth on Sept.4, 2024. The community of Allensworth has been dealing with an ongoing issue of arsenic leaking into its wells, one of which consistently exceeds state health limits. \u003ccite>(Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The town has been working for years to install a new well. But efforts have lagged for over a decade — delayed by logistics including land purchases tied up in probate and lengthy \u003ca href=\"https://ceqanet.opr.ca.gov/2020069009/5\">environmental permitting,\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org/bills/ca_201720180sb495\">including for impacts\u003c/a> on \u003ca href=\"https://www.fws.gov/species/tipton-kangaroo-rat-dipodomys-nitratoides-nitratoides\">endangered\u003c/a> and other \u003ca href=\"https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Fully-Protected\">protected species\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, Allensworth has been piloting alternative water sources \u003ca href=\"https://source.co/pages/allensworth%5D\">as a test site for hydropanels designed to extract freshwater from the atmosphere\u003c/a> and for \u003ca href=\"https://news.berkeley.edu/2022/09/21/bringing-arsenic-safe-drinking-water-to-rural-california/\">lower-cost treatment technology out of UC Berkeley.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the end of August, Allensworth had qualified for emergency state water board funding through Self-Help Enterprises to repair the wells and investigate the source of the electrical issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hunter said she’s excited to know that help is on the way, but she’s frustrated with how long it’s taking to bring reliably clean water to her community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It wouldn’t have happened in none of the other little cities around here,” Hunter said. “People of color are always put on the back burner. Latinos and Blacks, we’re always sitting on the back of the bus.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Nitrate spikes in a Monterey County town’s wells\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Two hours toward the coast, in the agricultural Monterey County community of San Lucas, Virginia Sandoval mixes formula with bottled water for her 2-month-old twin granddaughters. She’s afraid to even bathe the babies, born prematurely, in the tap water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For over a decade, the \u003ca href=\"https://data.census.gov/profile/San_Lucas_CDP,_California?g=160XX00US0668140\">largely Latino town of about 300 residents\u003c/a> has struggled with nitrate contamination in its well, which is located on nearby farmland. The contaminant \u003ca href=\"https://ucanr.edu/sites/groundwaternitrate/files/138956.pdf\">leaches into water supplies from crop fertilizer\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/documents/nitrate/fact_sheet_nitrate_may2014_update.pdf\">consumed\u003c/a> in high enough quantities, nitrate has been linked to \u003ca href=\"https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/nitrate-nitrite/health_effects.html\">cancers\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/full/10.1289/EHP8205\">pregnancy complications\u003c/a> and can reduce \u003ca href=\"https://ucanr.edu/sites/groundwaternitrate/files/138956.pdf\">the capacity of a baby’s blood\u003c/a> to carry oxygen, leading to a sometimes deadly condition known as “blue baby syndrome.” Nitrate is \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/documents/nitrate/fact_sheet_nitrate_may2014_update.pdf\">not absorbed through the skin\u003c/a>, and the California Department of Public Health said babies can be bathed in nitrate-contaminated water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Lucas’ water system is designated as failing because of nitrate levels that wax and wane, according to Andrew Altevogt, an assistant deputy director of the State Water Board’s Division of Drinking Water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though the levels \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/programs/districts/docs/sanlucas/improvements-draft-engineering-report.pdf\">have averaged well below\u003c/a> the federal \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/estimated-nitrate-concentrations-groundwater-used-drinking\">health standard for the past decade\u003c/a>, they have occasionally spiked to double the state’s limit, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/programs/districts/docs/sanlucas/improvements-draft-engineering-report.pdf\">a recent engineering report\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nitrate’s an acute contaminant, so if it does happen, it’s an immediate concern,” Altevogt said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The water system has also been plagued with other contaminants that affect taste, odor and color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/dlcwo/12/\" width=\"1000\" height=\"280\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For years, residents have relied on bottled water \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/press_room/press_releases/2013/pr042513.pdf\">mandated by regional regulators \u003c/a>and provided by the farmer where the well is located.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The supplies often don’t last the week for Sandoval. She regularly drives the 20-mile round trip to King City to purchase more bottles — a cost of more than $20 per week, she estimates, on top of her monthly water bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very stressful to be thinking every morning … ‘Do I have water or do I not have water?’ What am I going to do?’” Sandoval said in Spanish. “I even had to look for coins, pennies, so that I can go pick up water.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nitrate is a pervasive problem in the Central Coast, \u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/water_issues/programs/ilp/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">where 90% of drinking water is pumped from the ground\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/board_info/agendas/2018/may/item8/item8_stfrpt.pdf\">farms discharge nitrogen waste\u003c/a> at a rate “approximately an order of magnitude greater” than what scientists consider “protective of water quality,” according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/board_info/agendas/2018/may/item8/item8_stfrpt.pdf\">the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three years ago, \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/water_issues/programs/ilp/regulatory_information.html\">regional water regulators\u003c/a> issued \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/water_issues/programs/ilp/docs/ag_order4/2021/ao4_order.pdf\">an order\u003c/a> setting limits on the amount of fertilizer applied to crops. But two years later, state officials \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/public_notices/petitions/water_quality/docs/2023/wqo2023-0081.pdf\">overturned them,\u003c/a> saying that an expert panel needed to evaluate whether there was enough data to support the restrictions, according to a statement from the state water board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You really can’t grow a lot of these crops without fertilizer,” said Norm Groot, executive director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau. “We can’t artificially reduce that overnight and continue to produce the food items that are important to our nation’s dinner tables.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Community and conservation \u003ca href=\"https://crla.org/sites/default/files/2023-10/San%20Jerardo%20et%20al%20v%20SWRCB_Filed%20stamped-103023.pdf\">organizations sued\u003c/a> both the state and regional regulators. Another coalition, including San Lucas community members, filed a \u003ca href=\"https://crla.org/articles/racial-discrimination-complaint-names-ca-state-water-board-partly-blame-fertilizer\">racial discrimination \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://crla.org/sites/default/files/2024-03/3.18.24_CRLA-Title-VI-Complaint-Central%20Coast.pdf\">complaint with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The groups say the state board’s rollback of the fertilizer limits “disproportionately harmed Latinx communities and other communities of color,” which are \u003ca href=\"https://crla.org/sites/default/files/2024-03/3.18.24_EXHIBITS_Central-Coast-Title-VI-Complaint.pdf\">4.4 times more likely to have groundwater contamination\u003c/a> above the state limits. [aside postID=\"news_11992044,news_11982531,news_12002387\" label=\"Related Stories\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, residents are still waiting for reliably clean water. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.countyofmonterey.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/13695/636112571895700000\">decade-old plan\u003c/a> to connect San Lucas with King City’s water \u003ca href=\"https://www.countyofmonterey.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/13685/636112571865400000\">supply via an 8-mile pipeline\u003c/a> stalled after state regulators \u003ca href=\"https://www.countyofmonterey.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/13689/636112571876970000\">said the long pipeline would be too expensive\u003c/a> and urged the county to find a new groundwater source instead, according to correspondence posted by Monterey County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, eight years and \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/programs/districts/docs/sanlucas/feasibility-study-technical-memo.pdf\">a state-funded study later\u003c/a>, state, county, regional and water district officials are \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/programs/districts/docs/sanlucas/meeting-flyer.pdf\">once again weighing their options\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We sit here today counting years. It’s mind-blowing,” Monterey County Supervisor \u003ca href=\"https://www.countyofmonterey.gov/government/board-of-supervisors/district-3-chris-lopez\">Chris Lopez said\u003c/a>. “I feel like we’ve failed (residents) as a society so much, without being able to give them the clean drinking water that they deserve.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Data journalist Natasha Uzcátegui-Liggett contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Drinking water contamination is a chronic, insidious threat in California’s rural communities. Some have been waiting for clean water for years.",
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"title": "California's Rural Communities Struggle for Clean Drinking Water Amid Contamination Crisis | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In a major milestone, state regulators \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/press_room/press_releases/2024/pr20240722-safer-5-year-event.pdf\">announced in July that nearly a million more Californians\u003c/a> now have safe drinking water than five years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, across the state, the problem remains severe: More than \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/saferdashboard.html\">735,000 people are still served by the nearly 400 water systems\u003c/a> that fail to meet state requirements for safe and reliable drinking water. Latino farm communities struggling with poverty and pollution \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/documents/needs/2024/2024-needs-assessment.pdf\">are especially hard-hit\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About three-quarters of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/saferdashboard.html\">failing systems in California\u003c/a> have violated \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/documents/ccr/mcls_epa_vs_dwp.pdf\">state or federal standards for contaminants\u003c/a> that are linked to serious health problems, such as cancer and effects on developing babies, according to a CalMatters analysis of state data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among the most pervasive contaminants are arsenic, nitrate and a chemical called 1,2,3-trichloropropane, or 1,2,3-TCP. Combined, elevated levels of these chemicals contaminate more than 220 failing systems serving nearly half a million people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unsafe drinking water is a chronic, insidious and sometimes hidden problem in a state where attention is more often focused on shortages than the quality of the water. The failing systems are clustered in rural farm areas that have experienced decades of groundwater contamination. Many residents are afraid to drink tap water or even bathe their children in it, relying on bottled water instead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is morally outrageous that we can’t provide the level of basic human rights that people need and that it’s primarily low-income communities of color who are facing these disparate impacts,” said Kyle Jones, policy and legal director with the Community Water Center, a nonprofit group. “While the state’s made a lot of good progress … more needs to be done.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/w55cl/20/\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Twelve years ago, California became the first state to recognize \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/hr2w/\">clean, safe, affordable and accessible drinking water as a human right\u003c/a>. In 2019, Legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom approved \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB200\">a law\u003c/a> that gave rise to the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/grants_loans/sustainable_water_solutions/safer.html\">Safe and Affordable Funding program.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, about 98% of Californians are served by water systems that meet state standards, and over \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/press_room/press_releases/2024/pr20240722-safer-5-year-event.pdf\">$1 billion in state grants have helped disadvantaged communities\u003c/a> tackle drinking water problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But despite all the systems that have been removed from the state’s failing list, about 600 others serving 1.6 million people are \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/saferdashboard.html\">at risk of failure,\u003c/a> and more than 400 others serving another 1.6 million are deemed “potentially at risk.”\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have continuing degradation of groundwater from all our human activities — farming, industry, drought itself with our climate change,” said Darrin Polhemus, deputy director of the State Water Resources Control Board and head of its Division of Drinking Water. “We’re seeing the dawn of a new age where treatment is required on almost all our groundwater sources, and these small communities are not prepared for what that means.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ensuring safe and reliable drinking water for all Californians will \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/documents/needs/2024/2024-needs-assessment.pdf\">cost about $16 billion, according to a recent state analysis\u003c/a>. However, the state water board projects that it has only $2 billion available for grants in communities and $1.5 billion for loans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Suppliers that violate drinking water standards are required to notify residents and reduce their exposure, often by treating or blending water supplies. State regulators are pushing for long-term fixes, like consolidating some smaller suppliers with bigger systems nearby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state auditor lambasted California water officials two years ago for “\u003ca href=\"https://information.auditor.ca.gov/reports/2021-118/index.html\">a lack of urgency,\u003c/a>” pointing to lengthy funding timelines and other problems. But \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2024/06/california-drinking-water-failing-systems/\">infrastructure takes time\u003c/a> and advanced planning, which is a struggle for smaller water systems, state officials say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Violations “can be resolved in a matter of days, or it can take years,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/docs/2023/annual-compliance-report-2023.pdf\">according to a 2023 water board report\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some water providers, such as in the town of Lamont in Kern County, are poised to fix their water problems with \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/press_room/press_releases/2023/pr021323-lamont.pdf\">millions of dollars in state funding\u003c/a>. Other, smaller communities, like Allensworth in Tulare County and San Lucas on the Central Coast, have been waiting for clean water for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, rural residents are left to weigh the risks flowing through their taps for themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re pretty much playing Russian Roulette,” said Tequita Jefferson, a longtime resident of Pixley, where the \u003ca href=\"https://pixleypud.specialdistrict.org/files/e060ed1f4/123+TCP+2024+Quater+2.pdf\">water system has elevated levels of the chemical 1,2,3-TCP\u003c/a>, which has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/water_issues/programs/ilp/docs/123tcp_factsheet_2022.pdf\">linked to cancer\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It scares me. All of it scares me,” Jefferson said. “And then no one thinks about it. Here, we’re in a rural community, and people have a tendency to overlook us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>In this small town, pesticide residue is the culprit\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>In the San Joaquin Valley community of Pixley, home to about 3,800 people, the jobs are rooted in agriculture — and so are the water problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Widespread use of soil fumigants \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/water_issues/programs/ilp/docs/123tcp_factsheet_2022.pdf\">starting in the 1950s\u003c/a> contaminated Central Valley groundwater with 1,2,3-TCP, which is an impurity in those fumigants and is also used as an industrial solvent. Though the fumigants were pulled \u003ca href=\"https://rbwaterlaw.com/tcp-litigation/\">from the market or reformulated\u003c/a> in California \u003ca href=\"https://digital.sandiego.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1198&context=crlr\">by the 1990s\u003c/a>, elevated levels continue to taint the water in wells throughout \u003ca href=\"https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/271800/1-s2.0-S0048969719X00145/1-s2.0-S0048969719314317/am.pdf?X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEPX%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FwEaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJGMEQCIAq8BCN1SIlQc%2FH%2BCav5Uss9VWF3VxslAZeOwNXe71sDAiAIKCNIQBXcdFEdBN2hotfzrOgGafbCKROe86FKZ8Oyliq8BQjt%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F8BEAUaDDA1OTAwMzU0Njg2NSIMvoEiTR3%2BejzigkCEKpAFxEjdOKL56DXlUVbOtjqfPDQSA%2F5l13XCiqUzR0raPHWODqNP3rwQWvx2dtqbhXtvcnkMReuAbllXAGQA9FugUlhLfmN%2BPYCJ6fqaaBx7yjAWu7vJyxoPtYadQpgC1YHGfc1nlgAvibyYvWivWx76njmTM%2FXpzRVrQTl7a%2FahqPQGtxI3B02vmuSmpKA%2FjMz85EfHmOjUbzgkx6XpLIa%2BmM0t6Mk1whVrsu%2Fldsogq7XaO%2Fh1csm%2FW3WyO9BgxBsELjf5fvH3TNp4ZtYBvJfEE5Dx7FXOE30%2BSvv2o1ei8X6Fj31vTlIRIYT99Ku98yIScnRQLeC30kUPMpXwUkqeErc1FGbaKL7WgL6Piqkp5ofVGy5R5zkcHDR38PrhatYdbDk9s4f5RyfTje9AkTlUAV4yIadvt0DQxOFSMpQ5E6iyWvxUf5NihqB11EJxTANF3hndKL7Uqsqwzd%2BYUxwFZm3Pwg3BDQ%2BSsPtHjMfTwe7gmzB3KSAMRTfVCwg6r8qZ6n1s7vhg714%2BouNYbUasgRYcF4jEGGEqtH%2FmkZ3NDFf6DK1B9p1tIwpCnkWRFFJJfWdzDxCvn6PIpJ4OoqTLTe5h2zAn0aur4kJxC9BBSjOLGvDgdyjADnzVrKgMTd0Cq%2Bto4Asb6qFi5JiUh%2FwnVzBgvX%2BPWoNP2KYkmxgrqJ4TC4aYtQKDLbPqe66pyBIxZ4hkMwQIDV0SLqZXSzE94fVhR7jiWQyWNGgHASFbWTr%2BuqzJAmX6%2BBLpNIG0cFZuU3cWnPcwTYxSIGyKDiMltnHBJKiGn%2Fbuz9G1vgXfxmipWEs1%2F2zPPfwBZCeee5jJYM9BpkPatzZzZ4eXNogQk0pJu%2FwZopHhlTHH3Ot7MqUwgof9tQY6sgFhnET1naPVN03CLAu5xeodO1jc%2BSNSQT8zr8iGKI0tgiwBEKWSd%2B6evCEkh%2Bwq4gwhna1anZpqr5sA882qSpVn0c3nfJX6uhyqQqXSU1vdkQGOYkynX%2Bh6PyAWty5fLR6Dwgc%2BJe22oBDuJyoZg3lYAmraUPjWbMQO8ZquMiFVcyLgi%2FcKxbscIaaEO6cPcWRDAh%2FpXGiNoFpqtauVUk3pdsu2BDPZLLWPRoisRC2hR%2Fqz&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20240816T133350Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAQ3PHCVTYYPKLKU5J%2F20240816%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=48a487247d845e02581dd879c8c76c8a4b24023605a1d08576b500dffe253e66&hash=b1fdd300fa31e21ecb13e4ed333823ef2ffbd60a01762d1a11b6a3b12f6d9ec3&host=68042c943591013ac2b2430a89b270f6af2c76d8dfd086a07176afe7c76c2c61&pii=S0048969719314317&tid=pdf-499f6c17-6bc4-401a-b80d-f25c1cb118b9&sid=2a0f6eef29aba64a5f8a4ec8568fba479b56gxrqa&type=client\">the San Joaquin Valley\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the absence of federal standards, state regulators \u003ca href=\"https://www.slenvironment.com/blog/1-2-3-tcp-in-drinking-water-strategies-for-groundwater-remediation\">set the most stringent drinking water limits\u003c/a> for the chemical in the country in 2017.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The chemical has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp57.pdf\">linked to cancers in animal studies\u003c/a>. People can be exposed to 1,2,3-TCP by drinking it, cooking with it and \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/water_issues/programs/ilp/docs/123tcp_factsheet_2022.pdf\">breathing in vapor\u003c/a> from household water use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christina Velazquez, who has lived in Pixley for 44 years and had her own brush with cancer, estimates that she spends at least $30 per month to buy filters and water bottles on top of her water and sewer bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12003794\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_04.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12003794\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_04.jpg\" alt=\"A woman wearing a green and black shirt points to dishes in a kitchen sink.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_04.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_04-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_04-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_04-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_04-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_04-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Christina Velazquez runs the water at the highest pressure it can go in the kitchen of her home in Pixley on Sept. 4, 2024. Velazquez doesn’t let her family drink the water due to tainted water in the local wells. \u003ccite>(Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“That’s what I make my grandkids drink — I won’t let them drink the water from the faucet,” Velasquez said. “We shouldn’t have to buy water when we’re already paying for it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12003793\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_02.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12003793\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_02.jpg\" alt=\"Water filters sit on a kitchen counter.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_02.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_02-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_02-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_02-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_02-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_02-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Christina Velazquez shows the different filters she uses to clean her water in the kitchen of her home in Pixley on Sept. 4, 2024. \u003ccite>(Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Pixley received $11.5 million from pesticide manufacturers in 2021 to settle a lawsuit about the contamination, according to attorney Chad Lew, counsel for the Pixley Public Utility District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But \u003ca href=\"https://pixleypud.specialdistrict.org/seat-1-david-g-terrel-jr-vice-president\">David Terrel,\u003c/a> a teacher and vice president of the district’s board, said there still isn’t enough funding to fix the contamination problem. “If we could handle it on our own, we would be doing that,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pixley is holding out hope for a construction grant from the state. The district has received about $750,000 for planning and technical assistance, as well as for installing filtered-water vending machines, according to a state database.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/sZ2i2/12/\" width=\"800\" height=\"850\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other water systems also have \u003ca href=\"https://rbwaterlaw.com/tcp-litigation/\">won large payouts from pesticide manufacturers\u003c/a>. Fresno, for instance, \u003ca href=\"https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article290692809.html\">received $230 million in a recent case\u003c/a>. But Polhemus, with the state’s Division of Drinking Water, said these settlements are rarely enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re still pretty broken when it comes to corporate responsibility for wide-scale pollution,” Polhemus said. The money will “last for a decade or two, but what about the third and fourth and fifth decade, when they’re still dealing with that contaminant?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Lamont, about an hour south of Pixley near Bakersfield, the failure of one well \u003ca href=\"https://www.lpud.org/about-us\">forced more than 18,200\u003c/a> people to rely more heavily on a well contaminated with elevated levels of 1,2,3-TCP.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lamont Public Utility District General Manager Scott Taylor said a fix is already in the works, thanks to a new well built with state funds. Another \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/press_room/press_releases/2023/pr021323-lamont.pdf\">$25.4 million grant from the water board \u003c/a>will help Lamont install three new wells to provide water to Lamont and a smaller arsenic-plagued system nearby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Without the state help, what would we have done? Honestly, I don’t have a clue. And I’m glad I don’t have to find out,” Taylor said. “We don’t have $30 million laying around.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>In Allensworth, arsenic is a decadeslong problem\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Just 20 minutes away from Pixley, \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/campaigns/allensworth.html\">in Allensworth\u003c/a>, Sherry Hunter keeps catching herself running the tap to brush her teeth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tiny Tulare County community of about 530 people, \u003ca href=\"https://data.census.gov/profile/Allensworth_CDP,_California?g=160XX00US0601010\">93% of them Latino\u003c/a>, has struggled with arsenic leaching \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/5views/5views2h7.htm\">into its wells for decades\u003c/a>, one of which still \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/docs/2024/allensworth-slides.pdf\">regularly exceeds state health limits\u003c/a>. And the crisis keeps worsening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12003796\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_15.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12003796\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_15.jpg\" alt=\"A Black woman wearing a gray shirt holds a tool to water a plant in a living room.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_15.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_15-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_15-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_15-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_15-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_15-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sherry Hunter waters her plants in her living room in Allensworth on Sept.4, 2024. The community of Allensworth has been dealing with an ongoing issue of arsenic leaking into its wells, one of which consistently exceeds state health limits. \u003ccite>(Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Drinking arsenic-contaminated water over a long period of time \u003ca href=\"https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/arsenic\">can cause cancers\u003c/a> and has been linked with fetal deaths and \u003ca href=\"https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/PHS/PHS.aspx?phsid=18&toxid=3\">malformations in test animals,\u003c/a> as well as harm to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221499961400304X\">developing brains of babies and young children\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Arsenic is found naturally in rocks and soils throughout California, though it is worsened by \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-04475-3#:~:text=Arsenic%20has%20been%20transported%20to,for%20millions%20of%20years14.\">groundwater over-pumping to irrigate farm fields\u003c/a> in the San Joaquin Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Allensworth Community Services District, where Hunter serves as president, has tried to reduce the contamination by blending in water from a less tainted well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in July, both wells failed because of suspected electrical issues, according to the nonprofit Self-Help Enterprises. Though the more contaminated well was brought back online, it, too, began sputtering out in August — leaving residents with either arsenic-contaminated water or no water at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Farmworkers living in Allensworth found themselves unable to shower after long days in the heat, Hunter said. “It’s a horrible feeling … We don’t have rich people that live in Allensworth.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Communities of \u003ca href=\"https://data.census.gov/profile/Allensworth_CDP,_California?g=160XX00US0601010\">color like Allensworth\u003c/a> are \u003ca href=\"https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1476-069X-11-84#Sec18\">more likely to be served by water systems that violate state and federal limits for the contaminant\u003c/a>, according to UC Berkeley researchers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12003795\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_11.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12003795\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_11.jpg\" alt=\"Cases of bottle water on the floor next to a black chair and curtains in a room.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_11.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_11-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_11-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_11-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_11-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/09/090424_Water-Quality-LV_11-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cases of water Sherry Hunter collects in her home in Allensworth on Sept.4, 2024. The community of Allensworth has been dealing with an ongoing issue of arsenic leaking into its wells, one of which consistently exceeds state health limits. \u003ccite>(Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The town has been working for years to install a new well. But efforts have lagged for over a decade — delayed by logistics including land purchases tied up in probate and lengthy \u003ca href=\"https://ceqanet.opr.ca.gov/2020069009/5\">environmental permitting,\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org/bills/ca_201720180sb495\">including for impacts\u003c/a> on \u003ca href=\"https://www.fws.gov/species/tipton-kangaroo-rat-dipodomys-nitratoides-nitratoides\">endangered\u003c/a> and other \u003ca href=\"https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Fully-Protected\">protected species\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, Allensworth has been piloting alternative water sources \u003ca href=\"https://source.co/pages/allensworth%5D\">as a test site for hydropanels designed to extract freshwater from the atmosphere\u003c/a> and for \u003ca href=\"https://news.berkeley.edu/2022/09/21/bringing-arsenic-safe-drinking-water-to-rural-california/\">lower-cost treatment technology out of UC Berkeley.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the end of August, Allensworth had qualified for emergency state water board funding through Self-Help Enterprises to repair the wells and investigate the source of the electrical issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hunter said she’s excited to know that help is on the way, but she’s frustrated with how long it’s taking to bring reliably clean water to her community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It wouldn’t have happened in none of the other little cities around here,” Hunter said. “People of color are always put on the back burner. Latinos and Blacks, we’re always sitting on the back of the bus.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Nitrate spikes in a Monterey County town’s wells\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Two hours toward the coast, in the agricultural Monterey County community of San Lucas, Virginia Sandoval mixes formula with bottled water for her 2-month-old twin granddaughters. She’s afraid to even bathe the babies, born prematurely, in the tap water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For over a decade, the \u003ca href=\"https://data.census.gov/profile/San_Lucas_CDP,_California?g=160XX00US0668140\">largely Latino town of about 300 residents\u003c/a> has struggled with nitrate contamination in its well, which is located on nearby farmland. The contaminant \u003ca href=\"https://ucanr.edu/sites/groundwaternitrate/files/138956.pdf\">leaches into water supplies from crop fertilizer\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/documents/nitrate/fact_sheet_nitrate_may2014_update.pdf\">consumed\u003c/a> in high enough quantities, nitrate has been linked to \u003ca href=\"https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/nitrate-nitrite/health_effects.html\">cancers\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/full/10.1289/EHP8205\">pregnancy complications\u003c/a> and can reduce \u003ca href=\"https://ucanr.edu/sites/groundwaternitrate/files/138956.pdf\">the capacity of a baby’s blood\u003c/a> to carry oxygen, leading to a sometimes deadly condition known as “blue baby syndrome.” Nitrate is \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/documents/nitrate/fact_sheet_nitrate_may2014_update.pdf\">not absorbed through the skin\u003c/a>, and the California Department of Public Health said babies can be bathed in nitrate-contaminated water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Lucas’ water system is designated as failing because of nitrate levels that wax and wane, according to Andrew Altevogt, an assistant deputy director of the State Water Board’s Division of Drinking Water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though the levels \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/programs/districts/docs/sanlucas/improvements-draft-engineering-report.pdf\">have averaged well below\u003c/a> the federal \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/estimated-nitrate-concentrations-groundwater-used-drinking\">health standard for the past decade\u003c/a>, they have occasionally spiked to double the state’s limit, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/programs/districts/docs/sanlucas/improvements-draft-engineering-report.pdf\">a recent engineering report\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nitrate’s an acute contaminant, so if it does happen, it’s an immediate concern,” Altevogt said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The water system has also been plagued with other contaminants that affect taste, odor and color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/dlcwo/12/\" width=\"1000\" height=\"280\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For years, residents have relied on bottled water \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/press_room/press_releases/2013/pr042513.pdf\">mandated by regional regulators \u003c/a>and provided by the farmer where the well is located.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The supplies often don’t last the week for Sandoval. She regularly drives the 20-mile round trip to King City to purchase more bottles — a cost of more than $20 per week, she estimates, on top of her monthly water bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very stressful to be thinking every morning … ‘Do I have water or do I not have water?’ What am I going to do?’” Sandoval said in Spanish. “I even had to look for coins, pennies, so that I can go pick up water.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nitrate is a pervasive problem in the Central Coast, \u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/water_issues/programs/ilp/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">where 90% of drinking water is pumped from the ground\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/board_info/agendas/2018/may/item8/item8_stfrpt.pdf\">farms discharge nitrogen waste\u003c/a> at a rate “approximately an order of magnitude greater” than what scientists consider “protective of water quality,” according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/board_info/agendas/2018/may/item8/item8_stfrpt.pdf\">the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three years ago, \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/water_issues/programs/ilp/regulatory_information.html\">regional water regulators\u003c/a> issued \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/water_issues/programs/ilp/docs/ag_order4/2021/ao4_order.pdf\">an order\u003c/a> setting limits on the amount of fertilizer applied to crops. But two years later, state officials \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/public_notices/petitions/water_quality/docs/2023/wqo2023-0081.pdf\">overturned them,\u003c/a> saying that an expert panel needed to evaluate whether there was enough data to support the restrictions, according to a statement from the state water board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You really can’t grow a lot of these crops without fertilizer,” said Norm Groot, executive director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau. “We can’t artificially reduce that overnight and continue to produce the food items that are important to our nation’s dinner tables.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Community and conservation \u003ca href=\"https://crla.org/sites/default/files/2023-10/San%20Jerardo%20et%20al%20v%20SWRCB_Filed%20stamped-103023.pdf\">organizations sued\u003c/a> both the state and regional regulators. Another coalition, including San Lucas community members, filed a \u003ca href=\"https://crla.org/articles/racial-discrimination-complaint-names-ca-state-water-board-partly-blame-fertilizer\">racial discrimination \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://crla.org/sites/default/files/2024-03/3.18.24_CRLA-Title-VI-Complaint-Central%20Coast.pdf\">complaint with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The groups say the state board’s rollback of the fertilizer limits “disproportionately harmed Latinx communities and other communities of color,” which are \u003ca href=\"https://crla.org/sites/default/files/2024-03/3.18.24_EXHIBITS_Central-Coast-Title-VI-Complaint.pdf\">4.4 times more likely to have groundwater contamination\u003c/a> above the state limits. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, residents are still waiting for reliably clean water. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.countyofmonterey.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/13695/636112571895700000\">decade-old plan\u003c/a> to connect San Lucas with King City’s water \u003ca href=\"https://www.countyofmonterey.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/13685/636112571865400000\">supply via an 8-mile pipeline\u003c/a> stalled after state regulators \u003ca href=\"https://www.countyofmonterey.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/13689/636112571876970000\">said the long pipeline would be too expensive\u003c/a> and urged the county to find a new groundwater source instead, according to correspondence posted by Monterey County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, eight years and \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/programs/districts/docs/sanlucas/feasibility-study-technical-memo.pdf\">a state-funded study later\u003c/a>, state, county, regional and water district officials are \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/programs/districts/docs/sanlucas/meeting-flyer.pdf\">once again weighing their options\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We sit here today counting years. It’s mind-blowing,” Monterey County Supervisor \u003ca href=\"https://www.countyofmonterey.gov/government/board-of-supervisors/district-3-chris-lopez\">Chris Lopez said\u003c/a>. “I feel like we’ve failed (residents) as a society so much, without being able to give them the clean drinking water that they deserve.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Data journalist Natasha Uzcátegui-Liggett contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"headTitle": "The Story Behind The Woman Who Inspired Harris to Break Barriers | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>When Shyamala Gopalan approached her father with an acceptance letter to UC Berkeley and announced her dream of becoming a scientist, she was just 19 years old.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was an unusual move by a woman whose own barrier-breaking choices would allow her daughter, Kamala Harris, to do the same. The vice president often cites her mom as an inspiration for her political career.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was the late 1950s, and Gopalan was part of one of the first waves of Indian immigrants to the United States. “Anybody with a South Asian background, you’ll know that this was early, early, early,” Harris said, recounting the story in May at an \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK66J1qfGog&t=9s\">event\u003c/a> with the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She arrived in the United States by herself because she had a passion and she had a goal,” Harris said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv style=\"width: 100%\" align=\"center\">\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"700\" src=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C4qpW1Kg4ly/embed\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003ch3>Gopalan’s research took her around the world\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Gopalan wanted to cure breast cancer. Her work took her all over the world, doing research in \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/11/04/1052178645/vice-president-harris-is-in-france-heres-what-she-will-be-doing\">France\u003c/a> and Canada. For part of her childhood, Harris lived in Wisconsin because of her mother’s job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Oakland, California, \u003ca href=\"https://irp.nih.gov/catalyst/29/4/a-fortuitous-connection\">Gopalan’s long hours\u003c/a> meant Harris and her younger sister Maya sometimes spent time after school with their downstairs neighbor, Regina Shelton, who ran a daycare center. Harris considers Shelton a second mother. When she was sworn in as vice president, Harris used Shelton’s bible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harris’ father, Donald Harris, immigrated to the United States from Jamaica, but her parents split up when she was young. Carole Porter, a childhood friend of Harris’, says that Gopalan raised her daughters with both cultures, but knew that Kamala and Maya would be seen as Black women.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In America, we’re considered Black women. And that’s how our mothers raised us because that’s what they knew we would be seen as,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/07/29/nx-s1-5050973/kamala-harris-friend-talks-about-how-their-childhood-shaped-her\">said Porter\u003c/a>, who also is biracial. “Regina Shelton was really helpful and supportive for Shyamala in doing that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/1600x1525+0+0/resize/1200/quality/75/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F52%2F8a%2F7dc15c1d482dbd099fad4bb231ef%2Fshyamala-berkley.jpg\" alt=\"Dr. Shyamala Gopalan in her lab at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory where she worked as a biomedical scientist. Her work was focused on hormone receptors in breast-cancer development.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1144\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Shyamala Gopalan in her lab at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory where she worked as a biomedical scientist. Her work was focused on hormone receptors in breast cancer development. (Courtesy of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 22px;font-weight: bold\">Gopalan was there for her daughter’s first campaign\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Harris’ first political campaign to become district attorney of San Francisco, her mother was at campaign headquarters every weekend, friends and former staffers of Harris say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sealing envelopes, making calls—she did the work—and making sure all the volunteers had coffee and donuts,” said Matthew Rothschild, a friend of Harris’ who was also close with her mother.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rothschild said Harris inherited her mother’s love of cooking, her laugh and her sense of justice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If she ever felt that you weren’t being treated right or you were down in the dumps, or there was any injustice in your life or anything, she’d be the first person to call and say, ‘Are you okay?’” he said, describing Gopalan. “And then she’d be hard to get off the phone because she wouldn’t want to hang up unless she knew you were okay.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harris started at just 8% in the polls in the primary for that district attorney race. In her campaign, she would talk about her mother in speeches — telling the audience about how her mother was five feet tall, but it seemed like she was much taller. It’s a line Harris still uses to this day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She’s been saying that since 2003,” Rebecca Prozan, Harris’ campaign manager in that race said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11998179\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11998179\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screen-Shot-2024-07-31-at-10.54.31-AM.png\" alt=\"Old photo of Kamala Harris and her mother.\" width=\"600\" height=\"596\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screen-Shot-2024-07-31-at-10.54.31-AM.png 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screen-Shot-2024-07-31-at-10.54.31-AM-160x159.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">“My mother, Dr. Shyamala Gopalan, had two goals in life: to cure breast cancer and to raise my sister and me. I miss her every day and think of her all the time. I am so proud to be her daughter. Happy Mother’s Day,” wrote Harris on Instagram. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C63qQ-SOIrX/\">A post shared by Vice President Kamala Harris (@vp).\u003c/a> \u003ccite>(@VP Kamala Harris via Instagram)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 22px;font-weight: bold\">A cancer researcher diagnosed with cancer\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gopalan died of colon cancer in 2009 as Harris was running for attorney general of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ten years later, when Harris ran for president the first time, she talked about her own experiences dealing with the health care system when her mother was going through chemotherapy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is the experience of some doctor talking to you about — have you heard the term anticipatory grief — which is the grief that you experience when someone is still here but it weighs on you. The experience of trying to cook for somebody and hope that whatever I make is something you can hold down or you have an appetite for,” Harris said during an \u003ca href=\"https://www.msnbc.com/transcripts/the-last-word/2019-05-28-msna1236796\">MSNBC town hall\u003c/a> in May 2019.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The experience of hoping when you’re going through chemotherapy that we can give you clothes that are soft enough because your skin is so sensitive. The experience of trying to make sure that the medication on each of the charts actually matches up,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In those months while Harris was running a campaign, and her mother was going through treatment, her friends took shifts to keep Gopalan company at the hospital. Rothschild was one of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would come in and sit with her and we would read the paper or watch the news or talk about Kamala,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even then, Rothschild said Gopalan had a sense of humor. He recalled that one day when he went to the hospital, she had put a sign on the door: “No visitors today. Only the Rothschilds.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Here she was, she was dying… she had a great sense of humor, even in her pain,” he said. “I can see her laughing, with her shoulders moving up and down, sort of the way it does with Kamala.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 22px;font-weight: bold\">On the trail today, Harris tells her mother’s story\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since becoming vice president, Harris has continued talking about the advice she got from her mother.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One line is the now infamous \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bSTqokjNEE\">coconut story\u003c/a>, which inspired a wave of emojis on social media that signify support for Harris.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t know what’s wrong with you, young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” Harris said last year, quoting her mother. “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Harris more often refers back to this line from her mother: Kamala, you may be the first to do many things, but make sure you’re not the last.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a line she referenced the night that she and President Biden won the election in 2020: “I may be the first woman to hold this office. But I won’t be the last.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Transcript:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DEBBIE ELLIOTT, HOST: Vice President Kamala Harris was the first woman and person of color to serve as district attorney of San Francisco and the second Black woman ever elected to the Senate. She’s also the first Black and South Asian woman to become vice president. For all the barriers Kamala Harris has broken, she didn’t do it alone. Her mother helped show her the way, as NPR’s White House correspondent Deepa Shivaram reports.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DEEPA SHIVARAM, BYLINE: Kamala Harris’ mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was 19 years old when she approached her father with a proposal. She wanted to go study to be a scientist, but not in Tamil Nadu, the state where Gopalan’s family lived in India. Shyamala wanted to go study science in a country where she knew no one at the University of California in Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: She was part of one of the first waves of Indians to come in relative modern history to the United States, in the ’50s, right? So, anybody of South Asian background, you’ll know that this was early, early, early.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SHIVARAM: That’s the Vice President talking about her trailblazing mom at an event two months ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>HARRIS: She arrived in the United States by herself because she had a passion and she had a goal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SHIVARAM: It was at Berkeley that Shyamala met Donald Harris, an economic student from Jamaica. They were both interested in civil rights. The two were together for about a decade and had two daughters, Kamala and her younger sister, Maya.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>HARRIS: Basically, her life was committed to two things — raising her two daughters and ending breast cancer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SHIVARAM: Breast cancer research is what Shyamala worked on. The hours were relentless, and the days were long. Sometimes, Harris and her sister would stay with their downstairs neighbor, Mrs. Regina Shelton, who ran a daycare center. Harris’s childhood friend, Carole Porter, told NPR’s Ari Shapiro she remembers Shyamala from their neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CAROLE PORTER: She had an air of confidence about her. She had an air of just integrity and strength. When you saw Shyamala, you said hello, Mrs. Harris.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SHIVARAM: Shyamala’s research also took her family around the country and around the world. Her first job was helping out in her mother’s research lab. But when it came time to pick her career path, Harris chose the law and of course, politics, and Shyamala was there to support her. Every weekend of Harris’ first campaign in 2003, Shyamala was at campaign headquarters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>MATTHEW ROTHSCHILD: Sealing envelopes, making calls — she did the work and made sure all the volunteers had coffee and doughnuts. She was extraordinary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SHIVARAM: That’s Matthew Rothschild, a friend of Harris’, who was also close with her mother. He says Harris gets from Shyamala her love of cooking, her laugh, and her determination to right any wrongs. Here he is describing Shyamala.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>ROTHSCHILD: If she ever felt that you weren’t being treated right or you were down in the dumps or there was any injustice in your life or anything, she’d be the first person to call — are you OK? What’s up? And then she would be hard to get off the phone because she wouldn’t want to hang up until she knew you were OK.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SHIVARAM: In 2009, Shyamala died of colon cancer shortly before Harris won her race for attorney general, before she met her husband Doug Emhoff, and before she embarked on her political career to Washington. But Harris keeps her mother’s memory and her advice top of mind. She often quotes her mother in speeches. There’s that now-famous coconut tree story, of course, but there’s also this — don’t let anyone tell you who you are. You tell them who you are, Shyamala would say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>HARRIS: She would often say to me, is Kamala, you may be the first to do many things. Make sure you’re not the last.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SHIVARAM: It’s a message Harris shares across the country and one that came up in New Orleans just two weeks before Harris would launch a presidential campaign breaking yet another barrier. She was taking pictures backstage and signed a poster that echoed her mother’s words. It read first but not the last.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Deepa Shivaram, NPR News.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When Shyamala Gopalan approached her father with an acceptance letter to UC Berkeley and announced her dream of becoming a scientist, she was just 19 years old.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was an unusual move by a woman whose own barrier-breaking choices would allow her daughter, Kamala Harris, to do the same. The vice president often cites her mom as an inspiration for her political career.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was the late 1950s, and Gopalan was part of one of the first waves of Indian immigrants to the United States. “Anybody with a South Asian background, you’ll know that this was early, early, early,” Harris said, recounting the story in May at an \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK66J1qfGog&t=9s\">event\u003c/a> with the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She arrived in the United States by herself because she had a passion and she had a goal,” Harris said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv style=\"width: 100%\" align=\"center\">\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"700\" src=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C4qpW1Kg4ly/embed\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003ch3>Gopalan’s research took her around the world\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Gopalan wanted to cure breast cancer. Her work took her all over the world, doing research in \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/11/04/1052178645/vice-president-harris-is-in-france-heres-what-she-will-be-doing\">France\u003c/a> and Canada. For part of her childhood, Harris lived in Wisconsin because of her mother’s job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Oakland, California, \u003ca href=\"https://irp.nih.gov/catalyst/29/4/a-fortuitous-connection\">Gopalan’s long hours\u003c/a> meant Harris and her younger sister Maya sometimes spent time after school with their downstairs neighbor, Regina Shelton, who ran a daycare center. Harris considers Shelton a second mother. When she was sworn in as vice president, Harris used Shelton’s bible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harris’ father, Donald Harris, immigrated to the United States from Jamaica, but her parents split up when she was young. Carole Porter, a childhood friend of Harris’, says that Gopalan raised her daughters with both cultures, but knew that Kamala and Maya would be seen as Black women.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In America, we’re considered Black women. And that’s how our mothers raised us because that’s what they knew we would be seen as,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/07/29/nx-s1-5050973/kamala-harris-friend-talks-about-how-their-childhood-shaped-her\">said Porter\u003c/a>, who also is biracial. “Regina Shelton was really helpful and supportive for Shyamala in doing that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/1600x1525+0+0/resize/1200/quality/75/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F52%2F8a%2F7dc15c1d482dbd099fad4bb231ef%2Fshyamala-berkley.jpg\" alt=\"Dr. Shyamala Gopalan in her lab at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory where she worked as a biomedical scientist. Her work was focused on hormone receptors in breast-cancer development.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1144\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Shyamala Gopalan in her lab at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory where she worked as a biomedical scientist. Her work was focused on hormone receptors in breast cancer development. (Courtesy of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 22px;font-weight: bold\">Gopalan was there for her daughter’s first campaign\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Harris’ first political campaign to become district attorney of San Francisco, her mother was at campaign headquarters every weekend, friends and former staffers of Harris say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sealing envelopes, making calls—she did the work—and making sure all the volunteers had coffee and donuts,” said Matthew Rothschild, a friend of Harris’ who was also close with her mother.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rothschild said Harris inherited her mother’s love of cooking, her laugh and her sense of justice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If she ever felt that you weren’t being treated right or you were down in the dumps, or there was any injustice in your life or anything, she’d be the first person to call and say, ‘Are you okay?’” he said, describing Gopalan. “And then she’d be hard to get off the phone because she wouldn’t want to hang up unless she knew you were okay.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harris started at just 8% in the polls in the primary for that district attorney race. In her campaign, she would talk about her mother in speeches — telling the audience about how her mother was five feet tall, but it seemed like she was much taller. It’s a line Harris still uses to this day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She’s been saying that since 2003,” Rebecca Prozan, Harris’ campaign manager in that race said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11998179\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11998179\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screen-Shot-2024-07-31-at-10.54.31-AM.png\" alt=\"Old photo of Kamala Harris and her mother.\" width=\"600\" height=\"596\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screen-Shot-2024-07-31-at-10.54.31-AM.png 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Screen-Shot-2024-07-31-at-10.54.31-AM-160x159.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">“My mother, Dr. Shyamala Gopalan, had two goals in life: to cure breast cancer and to raise my sister and me. I miss her every day and think of her all the time. I am so proud to be her daughter. Happy Mother’s Day,” wrote Harris on Instagram. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C63qQ-SOIrX/\">A post shared by Vice President Kamala Harris (@vp).\u003c/a> \u003ccite>(@VP Kamala Harris via Instagram)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 22px;font-weight: bold\">A cancer researcher diagnosed with cancer\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gopalan died of colon cancer in 2009 as Harris was running for attorney general of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ten years later, when Harris ran for president the first time, she talked about her own experiences dealing with the health care system when her mother was going through chemotherapy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is the experience of some doctor talking to you about — have you heard the term anticipatory grief — which is the grief that you experience when someone is still here but it weighs on you. The experience of trying to cook for somebody and hope that whatever I make is something you can hold down or you have an appetite for,” Harris said during an \u003ca href=\"https://www.msnbc.com/transcripts/the-last-word/2019-05-28-msna1236796\">MSNBC town hall\u003c/a> in May 2019.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The experience of hoping when you’re going through chemotherapy that we can give you clothes that are soft enough because your skin is so sensitive. The experience of trying to make sure that the medication on each of the charts actually matches up,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In those months while Harris was running a campaign, and her mother was going through treatment, her friends took shifts to keep Gopalan company at the hospital. Rothschild was one of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would come in and sit with her and we would read the paper or watch the news or talk about Kamala,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even then, Rothschild said Gopalan had a sense of humor. He recalled that one day when he went to the hospital, she had put a sign on the door: “No visitors today. Only the Rothschilds.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Here she was, she was dying… she had a great sense of humor, even in her pain,” he said. “I can see her laughing, with her shoulders moving up and down, sort of the way it does with Kamala.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 22px;font-weight: bold\">On the trail today, Harris tells her mother’s story\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since becoming vice president, Harris has continued talking about the advice she got from her mother.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One line is the now infamous \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bSTqokjNEE\">coconut story\u003c/a>, which inspired a wave of emojis on social media that signify support for Harris.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t know what’s wrong with you, young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” Harris said last year, quoting her mother. “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Harris more often refers back to this line from her mother: Kamala, you may be the first to do many things, but make sure you’re not the last.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a line she referenced the night that she and President Biden won the election in 2020: “I may be the first woman to hold this office. But I won’t be the last.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Transcript:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DEBBIE ELLIOTT, HOST: Vice President Kamala Harris was the first woman and person of color to serve as district attorney of San Francisco and the second Black woman ever elected to the Senate. She’s also the first Black and South Asian woman to become vice president. For all the barriers Kamala Harris has broken, she didn’t do it alone. Her mother helped show her the way, as NPR’s White House correspondent Deepa Shivaram reports.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DEEPA SHIVARAM, BYLINE: Kamala Harris’ mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was 19 years old when she approached her father with a proposal. She wanted to go study to be a scientist, but not in Tamil Nadu, the state where Gopalan’s family lived in India. Shyamala wanted to go study science in a country where she knew no one at the University of California in Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: She was part of one of the first waves of Indians to come in relative modern history to the United States, in the ’50s, right? So, anybody of South Asian background, you’ll know that this was early, early, early.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SHIVARAM: That’s the Vice President talking about her trailblazing mom at an event two months ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>HARRIS: She arrived in the United States by herself because she had a passion and she had a goal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SHIVARAM: It was at Berkeley that Shyamala met Donald Harris, an economic student from Jamaica. They were both interested in civil rights. The two were together for about a decade and had two daughters, Kamala and her younger sister, Maya.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>HARRIS: Basically, her life was committed to two things — raising her two daughters and ending breast cancer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SHIVARAM: Breast cancer research is what Shyamala worked on. The hours were relentless, and the days were long. Sometimes, Harris and her sister would stay with their downstairs neighbor, Mrs. Regina Shelton, who ran a daycare center. Harris’s childhood friend, Carole Porter, told NPR’s Ari Shapiro she remembers Shyamala from their neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CAROLE PORTER: She had an air of confidence about her. She had an air of just integrity and strength. When you saw Shyamala, you said hello, Mrs. Harris.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SHIVARAM: Shyamala’s research also took her family around the country and around the world. Her first job was helping out in her mother’s research lab. But when it came time to pick her career path, Harris chose the law and of course, politics, and Shyamala was there to support her. Every weekend of Harris’ first campaign in 2003, Shyamala was at campaign headquarters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>MATTHEW ROTHSCHILD: Sealing envelopes, making calls — she did the work and made sure all the volunteers had coffee and doughnuts. She was extraordinary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SHIVARAM: That’s Matthew Rothschild, a friend of Harris’, who was also close with her mother. He says Harris gets from Shyamala her love of cooking, her laugh, and her determination to right any wrongs. Here he is describing Shyamala.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>ROTHSCHILD: If she ever felt that you weren’t being treated right or you were down in the dumps or there was any injustice in your life or anything, she’d be the first person to call — are you OK? What’s up? And then she would be hard to get off the phone because she wouldn’t want to hang up until she knew you were OK.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SHIVARAM: In 2009, Shyamala died of colon cancer shortly before Harris won her race for attorney general, before she met her husband Doug Emhoff, and before she embarked on her political career to Washington. But Harris keeps her mother’s memory and her advice top of mind. She often quotes her mother in speeches. There’s that now-famous coconut tree story, of course, but there’s also this — don’t let anyone tell you who you are. You tell them who you are, Shyamala would say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>HARRIS: She would often say to me, is Kamala, you may be the first to do many things. Make sure you’re not the last.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SHIVARAM: It’s a message Harris shares across the country and one that came up in New Orleans just two weeks before Harris would launch a presidential campaign breaking yet another barrier. She was taking pictures backstage and signed a poster that echoed her mother’s words. It read first but not the last.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "California Becomes the First State to Phase Out Toxic Hexavalent Chromium",
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"headTitle": "California Becomes the First State to Phase Out Toxic Hexavalent Chromium | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>There’s a toxic history to the shiny decorative finishes so ubiquitous on the wheels and bumpers of classic cars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chrome plating is important to a variety of consumer products from vintage automobiles to aerospace components to plumbing fixtures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But hexavalent chromium — a highly hazardous substance emitted by chrome-plating businesses — is 500 times more carcinogenic than diesel exhaust, putting it in the crosshairs of regulators for decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Air Resources Board on Friday approved a landmark ban on use of the substance by the chrome plating industry. The ban requires companies, who opposed the action, to use alternative materials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ban came after more than two hours of debate and public comment. Board members, while signaling their empathy for the potentially impacted vintage car platers, said public health was paramount.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Jane Williams, executive director, California Communities Against Toxics\"]‘The problem is what they’re doing there: They’re boiling vats of toxic metal-water solution.’[/pullquote]Air board member Hector De La Torre compared the ban to a 1976 rule phasing out lead in gasoline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is no mass produced leaded gasoline, not just in California, in the United States, so that changed as a result of an action that was taken here,” De La Torre said. “So there is precedent for taking a leap like that — for the health and safety of the public.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new rule will make California the first state to ban the substance more commonly known as chromium 6. Decorative plating businesses will have until 2027 to discontinue their use. Larger chrome plating plants, which use the toxin for industrial durability purposes, will have until 2039.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ban comes after years of activists’ efforts to limit use of the chemical, which the state identified as a toxic air pollutant in 1986. Jane Williams, executive director of California Communities Against Toxics, said the ruling is significant because Los Angeles County has a large concentration of chrome platers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air board said 113 chrome plating facilities operate with hexavalent chromium in California, and over 70% of them are in overburdened and disadvantaged communities, many near homes and schools, though industry representatives said in public comments that the board’s numbers were inaccurate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They can be tiny, they can be small, or they can be nestled inside larger industrial facilities, and so it’s not something that strikes you, like a generator or a refinery,” said Williams. “But the problem is what they’re doing there: They’re boiling vats of toxic metal-water solution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Industrial components are plated by being submerged in baths containing chromium 6 though decorative and functional plating deploy different processes. Emissions occur in the form of bubbles that rise to the top of the tanks and can be released in mists, drops and spills that can settle on floors, equipment and other surfaces. Once dry, dust can be released by open doors and vents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bryan Leiker, executive director of the Metal Finishing Association of California, said the air board’s rule amounts to an unfair ban on an industry that has proven it can use the toxic substance safely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11951007\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11951007\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy.jpg\" alt=\"A vintage car's chrome plated bumper.\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chrome plating on a vehicle. \u003ccite>(iStock)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He pointed to state data indicating that the state’s larger chrome platers produce less than 1% of emissions, with the majority coming from burning fossil fuels, cement production and other industries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The issue we have here is that our industry of course is in agreement with fair regulation, but what we have here is a ban,” Leiker said. “This is just a universal ban across the whole industry.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Less-toxic trivalent chromium is available as an alternative, and the air board hopes decorative chrome platers will widely adopt it following the ban. The problem, decorative chrome-platers say, is that trivalent chromium lacks the ornamental shine of chromium 6 — that glow ubiquitous among the lustrous lowriders synonymous with the likes of Art Leboe or the gleaming hot rods featured in \u003cem>American Graffiti\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trivalent chromium is not “period correct,” wrote Art Holman, a managing partner of Sherm’s Plating in Sacramento, in recent public commentary to the air board. Holman wrote that he fears customers will ship their products to other states to be plated, “adding more chrome emissions due to transportation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile trivalent chromium does not meet U.S. Department of Defense requirements. Leiker said that the air board is hoping the military will adopt new materials. But the uncertainty is a big risk for an industry that often relies on long lead times and multiyear contracts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is going to put our industry out of business, with a loss of jobs and a large exodus of manufacturing,” he said. “Our industry could be a ghost town in the state, long gone; there is a lot at stake here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Legislature has set aside $10 million to assist the industry make the change but some board members said the money was likely not enough.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Bryan Leiker, executive director, Metal Finishing Association of California\"]‘Our industry could be a ghost town in the state, long gone; there is a lot at stake here.’[/pullquote]The air board in 1988 adopted its first emissions standards for chromium 6 use in the plating industry, requiring facilities to equip their tanks with fume suppressants, filters or other pollution control devices. Over the intervening decades, those rules have been revised to further restrict and regulate hexavalent chromium.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The toxin has some presence in popular culture. The court battle over the presence of the chemical in drinking water in the San Bernardino County town of Hinkley was dramatized in the movie \u003cem>Erin Brockovich\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But environmental advocates and residents of Los Angeles’ lower-income, industrial neighborhoods and cities have long raised concerns. Residents of the southeast industrial city of Bell Gardens sued a chrome plating company, Chrome Crankshaft, in 1999, accusing it of producing emissions that had resulted in diseases including cancer, according to \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jan-20-me-65377-story.html\">The Los Angeles Times\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More recently, air monitoring in the southeast industrial city of Paramount was expanded after chromium 6 was discovered in much higher levels than other parts of Los Angeles County in 2016. The Paramount Unified School District detected chromium 6 in air samples inside two classrooms there. The South Coast Air Quality Management District said that air quality has improved significantly since then.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christopher Callard, a spokesman for Paramount, said the city had not detected significant samples of chromium 6, including at the schools, since it took over monitoring of the substance in 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The state Air Resources Board voted Friday to ban the substance known as chromium 6, giving platers several years to switch to an alternative the platers say won't produce the same chrome shine.",
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"title": "California Becomes the First State to Phase Out Toxic Hexavalent Chromium | KQED",
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"headline": "California Becomes the First State to Phase Out Toxic Hexavalent Chromium",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>There’s a toxic history to the shiny decorative finishes so ubiquitous on the wheels and bumpers of classic cars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chrome plating is important to a variety of consumer products from vintage automobiles to aerospace components to plumbing fixtures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But hexavalent chromium — a highly hazardous substance emitted by chrome-plating businesses — is 500 times more carcinogenic than diesel exhaust, putting it in the crosshairs of regulators for decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Air Resources Board on Friday approved a landmark ban on use of the substance by the chrome plating industry. The ban requires companies, who opposed the action, to use alternative materials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ban came after more than two hours of debate and public comment. Board members, while signaling their empathy for the potentially impacted vintage car platers, said public health was paramount.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Air board member Hector De La Torre compared the ban to a 1976 rule phasing out lead in gasoline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is no mass produced leaded gasoline, not just in California, in the United States, so that changed as a result of an action that was taken here,” De La Torre said. “So there is precedent for taking a leap like that — for the health and safety of the public.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new rule will make California the first state to ban the substance more commonly known as chromium 6. Decorative plating businesses will have until 2027 to discontinue their use. Larger chrome plating plants, which use the toxin for industrial durability purposes, will have until 2039.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ban comes after years of activists’ efforts to limit use of the chemical, which the state identified as a toxic air pollutant in 1986. Jane Williams, executive director of California Communities Against Toxics, said the ruling is significant because Los Angeles County has a large concentration of chrome platers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The air board said 113 chrome plating facilities operate with hexavalent chromium in California, and over 70% of them are in overburdened and disadvantaged communities, many near homes and schools, though industry representatives said in public comments that the board’s numbers were inaccurate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They can be tiny, they can be small, or they can be nestled inside larger industrial facilities, and so it’s not something that strikes you, like a generator or a refinery,” said Williams. “But the problem is what they’re doing there: They’re boiling vats of toxic metal-water solution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Industrial components are plated by being submerged in baths containing chromium 6 though decorative and functional plating deploy different processes. Emissions occur in the form of bubbles that rise to the top of the tanks and can be released in mists, drops and spills that can settle on floors, equipment and other surfaces. Once dry, dust can be released by open doors and vents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bryan Leiker, executive director of the Metal Finishing Association of California, said the air board’s rule amounts to an unfair ban on an industry that has proven it can use the toxic substance safely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11951007\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11951007\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy.jpg\" alt=\"A vintage car's chrome plated bumper.\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/052623-Chrome-Bumper-IS-CM-01-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chrome plating on a vehicle. \u003ccite>(iStock)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He pointed to state data indicating that the state’s larger chrome platers produce less than 1% of emissions, with the majority coming from burning fossil fuels, cement production and other industries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The issue we have here is that our industry of course is in agreement with fair regulation, but what we have here is a ban,” Leiker said. “This is just a universal ban across the whole industry.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Less-toxic trivalent chromium is available as an alternative, and the air board hopes decorative chrome platers will widely adopt it following the ban. The problem, decorative chrome-platers say, is that trivalent chromium lacks the ornamental shine of chromium 6 — that glow ubiquitous among the lustrous lowriders synonymous with the likes of Art Leboe or the gleaming hot rods featured in \u003cem>American Graffiti\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trivalent chromium is not “period correct,” wrote Art Holman, a managing partner of Sherm’s Plating in Sacramento, in recent public commentary to the air board. Holman wrote that he fears customers will ship their products to other states to be plated, “adding more chrome emissions due to transportation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile trivalent chromium does not meet U.S. Department of Defense requirements. Leiker said that the air board is hoping the military will adopt new materials. But the uncertainty is a big risk for an industry that often relies on long lead times and multiyear contracts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is going to put our industry out of business, with a loss of jobs and a large exodus of manufacturing,” he said. “Our industry could be a ghost town in the state, long gone; there is a lot at stake here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Legislature has set aside $10 million to assist the industry make the change but some board members said the money was likely not enough.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The air board in 1988 adopted its first emissions standards for chromium 6 use in the plating industry, requiring facilities to equip their tanks with fume suppressants, filters or other pollution control devices. Over the intervening decades, those rules have been revised to further restrict and regulate hexavalent chromium.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The toxin has some presence in popular culture. The court battle over the presence of the chemical in drinking water in the San Bernardino County town of Hinkley was dramatized in the movie \u003cem>Erin Brockovich\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But environmental advocates and residents of Los Angeles’ lower-income, industrial neighborhoods and cities have long raised concerns. Residents of the southeast industrial city of Bell Gardens sued a chrome plating company, Chrome Crankshaft, in 1999, accusing it of producing emissions that had resulted in diseases including cancer, according to \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jan-20-me-65377-story.html\">The Los Angeles Times\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More recently, air monitoring in the southeast industrial city of Paramount was expanded after chromium 6 was discovered in much higher levels than other parts of Los Angeles County in 2016. The Paramount Unified School District detected chromium 6 in air samples inside two classrooms there. The South Coast Air Quality Management District said that air quality has improved significantly since then.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christopher Callard, a spokesman for Paramount, said the city had not detected significant samples of chromium 6, including at the schools, since it took over monitoring of the substance in 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"disqusTitle": "New California Law Targets Inequity in Cancer Care. Some Say It Doesn't Go Far Enough",
"title": "New California Law Targets Inequity in Cancer Care. Some Say It Doesn't Go Far Enough",
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"content": "\u003cp>Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in California, behind only heart disease. This year alone, the state will tally an estimated \u003ca href=\"https://cancerstatisticscenter.cancer.org/#!/state/California\">189,000 new cancer cases\u003c/a> and close to 61,000 deaths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet while patients often need specialists, treatments and the chance to participate in clinical trials, that access is not equitable throughout the state. It typically depends on where patients live, and sometimes on their health insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cancer patients with lower incomes — and especially those in rural places — \u003ca href=\"https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2020/persistent-poverty-increased-cancer-death-risk#:~:text=A%20new%20study%20by%20NCI,than%20people%20in%20other%20counties.\">tend to fare worse\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://escholarship.org/content/qt8xc078vj/qt8xc078vj_noSplash_451b26b4f066a1cfb27ba71f52096a73.pdf?t=nxk0lm\">Studies have shown (PDF)\u003c/a> that patients with Medi-Cal, the health insurance program for residents with lower incomes, are less likely to get the recommended treatment and have lower cancer survival rates compared to people with private insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This disparity is at the crux of a California bill recently signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom that supporters say will make it at least a little easier for Medi-Cal patients to access cancer subspecialists, treatments and clinical trials.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Linda Nguy, policy advocate, Western Center on Law and Poverty\"]'Actually requiring plans [to contract with cancer centers] — that would have brought some meat to the table. From our understanding, plans already make efforts to contract with as many providers as possible, but it comes down to a reimbursement issue.'[/pullquote]\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB987\">The new law\u003c/a>, which goes into effect in January, requires Medi-Cal insurance plans to “make a good faith effort” to contract with \u003ca href=\"https://www.cancer.gov/research/infrastructure/cancer-centers\">cancer centers recognized by the National Cancer Institute\u003c/a> — which often have access to the latest treatments — or other qualifying cancer centers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Authored by Democratic \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/legislator-tracker/anthony-portantino-1961/\">Sen. Anthony Portantino\u003c/a> of Glendale, it was originally drafted to mandate that Medi-Cal plans add at least one of these cancer centers to their provider networks, but negotiations resulted in a scaled-back version, only requiring health plans to \u003cem>try\u003c/em> to add a cancer center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law also requires Medi-Cal plans to notify enrollees with complex cancers about their right to request a referral to any of these centers, even if it’s out of their plan’s network. Whether a patient can be treated at one of these centers, however, depends on whether the plan and the out-of-network provider can hash out a payment deal. This referral notification, supporters say, is critical: Patients can’t ask for something they don’t know is an option.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supporters say that even if limited, this law will be an important step toward helping cancer patients with lower incomes get specialized care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think making incremental change has the ability to save lives and that’s what we’re trying to do here,” Portantino said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Too often patients from underserved communities arrive at these specialized cancer centers very late after their diagnoses, said Dr. Joseph Alvarnas, hematologist-oncologist and vice president of government affairs at \u003ca href=\"https://www.cityofhope.org/\">City of Hope\u003c/a>, one of eight California cancer centers with a National Cancer Institute designation, and a sponsor of the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The conversation begins with, ‘If I could only have gotten here sooner,’ or ‘My family and I fought tooth-and-nail to get here,’” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alvarnas said that, historically, City of Hope used to see more Medi-Cal patients, but that changed as the state has largely moved its Medi-Cal program from a fee-for-service model (in which patients could see any provider who accepted Medi-Cal and the state paid providers for each service rendered) to managed care (considered a more cost-effective model, in which the state pays health insurance companies a fixed amount per enrollee).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In managed care, part of the way that model works is it includes narrower clinician networks and more limited hospital choices,” Alvarnas said. “If you have high blood pressure or you’ve got a condition that can be cared for by many types of doctors, that’s an OK model.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But when it comes to cancer care, your network of clinicians may not have an expert in leukemia or relapsed myeloma.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hospitals sometimes must send some of their sickest patients to cancer centers like City of Hope — as was the case for Patrick Nandy of Whittier. In 2008, during his senior year of college, he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow that can progress very quickly. Nandy said that when oncologists at St. Jude Medical Center could no longer treat him, he was transferred to City of Hope, where he participated in a chemotherapy clinical trial and a cord blood stem cell transplant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think about how lucky I am,” Nandy said. “Doctors said two more weeks and I probably would have been gone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These are the types of therapies that should be available to all patients with complex or aggressive cancers, but that’s not always the case, Alvarnas said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://escholarship.org/content/qt8xc078vj/qt8xc078vj_noSplash_451b26b4f066a1cfb27ba71f52096a73.pdf?t=nxk0lm\">2015 analysis by the University of California, Davis (PDF)\u003c/a> found worse outcomes for cancer patients with Medi-Cal compared to people with other types of insurance. Among some of the findings: Thirty-nine percent of breast cancer patients on Medi-Cal were diagnosed at an early stage compared to 61% of those who were privately insured.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study also found Medi-Cal patients diagnosed with early stage lung cancer had a 48% five-year survival rate, lower than the 65% five-year survival rate for those with private insurance. Medi-Cal patients also were less likely to receive the necessary therapies or treatments for several cancer types.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law will apply to people with rare or complex cancers, including advanced stage brain cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, leukemia and lymphoma, among others, Alvarnas said. The sought- after treatment and research centers include City of Hope, University of California comprehensive cancer centers, the Stanford Cancer Institute, as well as a number of Kaiser Permanente sites and the Cedars-Sinai Cancer Institute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the law as passed had no registered opposition, it was watered down during negotiations involving providers, health plans and the California Department of Health Care Services, which oversees the Medi-Cal program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/SB-987-Portantino-Author-OPPOSE-4.12.22.pdf\">Health insurance plans initially opposed Portantino’s bill (PDF)\u003c/a> because requiring plans to contract with centers, they warned, comes with new administrative hurdles that could disrupt or delay patient care.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Dr. Joseph Alvarnas, vice president of government affairs, City of Hope\"]'The state has worked very hard over the last decade to improve health care coverage. The issue, though, is there's a gulf between coverage and real access, because there is also a focus by the state to make sure that health care costs are somewhat controlled.'[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Linda Nguy, an advocate with the Western Center on Law and Poverty, said her organization withdrew its support after the bill was narrowed. “Actually requiring plans [to contract with cancer centers] — that would have brought some meat to the table,” Nguy said. “From our understanding, plans already make efforts to contract with as many providers as possible, but it comes down to a reimbursement issue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Medi-Cal, which covers about a third of Californians, pays providers \u003ca href=\"https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/88836/2001180-medicaid-physician-fees-after-the-aca-primary-care-fee-bump_0.pdf\">a lower rate than other insurance types (PDF)\u003c/a>. While lower reimbursement rates make the program \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbpp.org/research/health/frequently-asked-questions-about-medicaid\">more cost-efficient\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/forefront.20190401.678690/full/\">low payments can deter providers\u003c/a> from participating in Medi-Cal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The debate over cancer care equity shows the complexities of achieving true access even in a state that has expanded insurance coverage to more people. California is scheduled to become the first state in the country to offer Medi-Cal coverage to all income-eligible people regardless of immigration status. Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced that \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2022/10/19/medi-cal-expansion-provided-286000-undocumented-californians-with-comprehensive-health-care/#:~:text=SACRAMENTO%20%E2%80%93%20Today%2C%20Governor%20Gavin%20Newsom,years%20of%20age%20and%20older%2C\">286,000 undocumented people age 50 and older started to receive comprehensive coverage in May\u003c/a>. In 2024, California will open the Medi-Cal program to approximately 700,000 more people ages 26 to 49.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The state has worked very hard over the last decade to improve health care coverage,” Alvarnas said. “The issue, though, is there’s a gulf between coverage and real access, because there is also a focus by the state to make sure that health care costs are somewhat controlled.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the bill fell short of what supporters initially aimed for, the work to make cancer care more easily accessible will continue, said Autumn Ogden-Smith, director of state legislation for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, another sponsor of the bill. For instance, how to more easily get a patient into one of these cancer centers if they don’t live nearby is a priority, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you pull up a map, you’ll see these centers tend to cover certain areas — San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Davis-Sacramento,” Ogden-Smith said. “We’re going to have to focus on how we get the people in Northern California and in the middle of the state” to cancer centers, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in California, behind only heart disease. This year alone, the state will tally an estimated \u003ca href=\"https://cancerstatisticscenter.cancer.org/#!/state/California\">189,000 new cancer cases\u003c/a> and close to 61,000 deaths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet while patients often need specialists, treatments and the chance to participate in clinical trials, that access is not equitable throughout the state. It typically depends on where patients live, and sometimes on their health insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cancer patients with lower incomes — and especially those in rural places — \u003ca href=\"https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2020/persistent-poverty-increased-cancer-death-risk#:~:text=A%20new%20study%20by%20NCI,than%20people%20in%20other%20counties.\">tend to fare worse\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://escholarship.org/content/qt8xc078vj/qt8xc078vj_noSplash_451b26b4f066a1cfb27ba71f52096a73.pdf?t=nxk0lm\">Studies have shown (PDF)\u003c/a> that patients with Medi-Cal, the health insurance program for residents with lower incomes, are less likely to get the recommended treatment and have lower cancer survival rates compared to people with private insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This disparity is at the crux of a California bill recently signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom that supporters say will make it at least a little easier for Medi-Cal patients to access cancer subspecialists, treatments and clinical trials.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "'Actually requiring plans [to contract with cancer centers] — that would have brought some meat to the table. From our understanding, plans already make efforts to contract with as many providers as possible, but it comes down to a reimbursement issue.'",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB987\">The new law\u003c/a>, which goes into effect in January, requires Medi-Cal insurance plans to “make a good faith effort” to contract with \u003ca href=\"https://www.cancer.gov/research/infrastructure/cancer-centers\">cancer centers recognized by the National Cancer Institute\u003c/a> — which often have access to the latest treatments — or other qualifying cancer centers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Authored by Democratic \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/legislator-tracker/anthony-portantino-1961/\">Sen. Anthony Portantino\u003c/a> of Glendale, it was originally drafted to mandate that Medi-Cal plans add at least one of these cancer centers to their provider networks, but negotiations resulted in a scaled-back version, only requiring health plans to \u003cem>try\u003c/em> to add a cancer center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law also requires Medi-Cal plans to notify enrollees with complex cancers about their right to request a referral to any of these centers, even if it’s out of their plan’s network. Whether a patient can be treated at one of these centers, however, depends on whether the plan and the out-of-network provider can hash out a payment deal. This referral notification, supporters say, is critical: Patients can’t ask for something they don’t know is an option.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supporters say that even if limited, this law will be an important step toward helping cancer patients with lower incomes get specialized care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think making incremental change has the ability to save lives and that’s what we’re trying to do here,” Portantino said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Too often patients from underserved communities arrive at these specialized cancer centers very late after their diagnoses, said Dr. Joseph Alvarnas, hematologist-oncologist and vice president of government affairs at \u003ca href=\"https://www.cityofhope.org/\">City of Hope\u003c/a>, one of eight California cancer centers with a National Cancer Institute designation, and a sponsor of the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The conversation begins with, ‘If I could only have gotten here sooner,’ or ‘My family and I fought tooth-and-nail to get here,’” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alvarnas said that, historically, City of Hope used to see more Medi-Cal patients, but that changed as the state has largely moved its Medi-Cal program from a fee-for-service model (in which patients could see any provider who accepted Medi-Cal and the state paid providers for each service rendered) to managed care (considered a more cost-effective model, in which the state pays health insurance companies a fixed amount per enrollee).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In managed care, part of the way that model works is it includes narrower clinician networks and more limited hospital choices,” Alvarnas said. “If you have high blood pressure or you’ve got a condition that can be cared for by many types of doctors, that’s an OK model.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But when it comes to cancer care, your network of clinicians may not have an expert in leukemia or relapsed myeloma.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hospitals sometimes must send some of their sickest patients to cancer centers like City of Hope — as was the case for Patrick Nandy of Whittier. In 2008, during his senior year of college, he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow that can progress very quickly. Nandy said that when oncologists at St. Jude Medical Center could no longer treat him, he was transferred to City of Hope, where he participated in a chemotherapy clinical trial and a cord blood stem cell transplant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think about how lucky I am,” Nandy said. “Doctors said two more weeks and I probably would have been gone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These are the types of therapies that should be available to all patients with complex or aggressive cancers, but that’s not always the case, Alvarnas said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://escholarship.org/content/qt8xc078vj/qt8xc078vj_noSplash_451b26b4f066a1cfb27ba71f52096a73.pdf?t=nxk0lm\">2015 analysis by the University of California, Davis (PDF)\u003c/a> found worse outcomes for cancer patients with Medi-Cal compared to people with other types of insurance. Among some of the findings: Thirty-nine percent of breast cancer patients on Medi-Cal were diagnosed at an early stage compared to 61% of those who were privately insured.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study also found Medi-Cal patients diagnosed with early stage lung cancer had a 48% five-year survival rate, lower than the 65% five-year survival rate for those with private insurance. Medi-Cal patients also were less likely to receive the necessary therapies or treatments for several cancer types.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law will apply to people with rare or complex cancers, including advanced stage brain cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, leukemia and lymphoma, among others, Alvarnas said. The sought- after treatment and research centers include City of Hope, University of California comprehensive cancer centers, the Stanford Cancer Institute, as well as a number of Kaiser Permanente sites and the Cedars-Sinai Cancer Institute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the law as passed had no registered opposition, it was watered down during negotiations involving providers, health plans and the California Department of Health Care Services, which oversees the Medi-Cal program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/SB-987-Portantino-Author-OPPOSE-4.12.22.pdf\">Health insurance plans initially opposed Portantino’s bill (PDF)\u003c/a> because requiring plans to contract with centers, they warned, comes with new administrative hurdles that could disrupt or delay patient care.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Linda Nguy, an advocate with the Western Center on Law and Poverty, said her organization withdrew its support after the bill was narrowed. “Actually requiring plans [to contract with cancer centers] — that would have brought some meat to the table,” Nguy said. “From our understanding, plans already make efforts to contract with as many providers as possible, but it comes down to a reimbursement issue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Medi-Cal, which covers about a third of Californians, pays providers \u003ca href=\"https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/88836/2001180-medicaid-physician-fees-after-the-aca-primary-care-fee-bump_0.pdf\">a lower rate than other insurance types (PDF)\u003c/a>. While lower reimbursement rates make the program \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbpp.org/research/health/frequently-asked-questions-about-medicaid\">more cost-efficient\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/forefront.20190401.678690/full/\">low payments can deter providers\u003c/a> from participating in Medi-Cal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The debate over cancer care equity shows the complexities of achieving true access even in a state that has expanded insurance coverage to more people. California is scheduled to become the first state in the country to offer Medi-Cal coverage to all income-eligible people regardless of immigration status. Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced that \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2022/10/19/medi-cal-expansion-provided-286000-undocumented-californians-with-comprehensive-health-care/#:~:text=SACRAMENTO%20%E2%80%93%20Today%2C%20Governor%20Gavin%20Newsom,years%20of%20age%20and%20older%2C\">286,000 undocumented people age 50 and older started to receive comprehensive coverage in May\u003c/a>. In 2024, California will open the Medi-Cal program to approximately 700,000 more people ages 26 to 49.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The state has worked very hard over the last decade to improve health care coverage,” Alvarnas said. “The issue, though, is there’s a gulf between coverage and real access, because there is also a focus by the state to make sure that health care costs are somewhat controlled.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the bill fell short of what supporters initially aimed for, the work to make cancer care more easily accessible will continue, said Autumn Ogden-Smith, director of state legislation for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, another sponsor of the bill. For instance, how to more easily get a patient into one of these cancer centers if they don’t live nearby is a priority, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you pull up a map, you’ll see these centers tend to cover certain areas — San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Davis-Sacramento,” Ogden-Smith said. “We’re going to have to focus on how we get the people in Northern California and in the middle of the state” to cancer centers, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"marketplace": {
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"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
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"source": "American Public Media"
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"masters-of-scale": {
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},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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"morning-edition": {
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"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
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"onourwatch": {
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"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"on-the-media": {
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"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
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},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour",
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"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
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},
"perspectives": {
"id": "perspectives",
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"order": 14
},
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"planet-money": {
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"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/planetmoney.jpg",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/planet-money",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/planet-money/id290783428?mt=2",
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},
"politicalbreakdown": {
"id": "politicalbreakdown",
"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Political-Breakdown-2024-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"order": 5
},
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"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.possible.fm/",
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"source": "Possible"
},
"link": "/radio/program/possible",
"subscribe": {
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/730YpdUSNlMyPQwNnyjp4k"
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},
"pri-the-world": {
"id": "pri-the-world",
"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"source": "PRI"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pri-the-world",
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"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/PRIs-The-World-p24/",
"rss": "http://feeds.feedburner.com/pri/theworld"
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},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
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"video-tv": {},
"events": {},
"support": {}
}
}
}