EL DORADO HILLS, Calif. -- The Environmental Protection Agency will be spending the next 11 days in El Dorado Hills, testing for potentially dangerous amounts of asbestos fibers.
The agency is testing a limited area surrounding Oak Ridge High School, where high levels have already been found in the soil.
The EPA says long-term exposure to asbestos fibers can be a health hazard.
"Exposure to asbestos causes lung cancer. It's one of the handful of known human carcinogens," said EPA spokesperson Jerelean Johnson.
Several area sports grounds, playgrounds and trails will be closed during the EPA testing.
Testers could be seen wearing protective masks Friday while they played baseball on a baseball diamond, stirring up dust. The point was to see how much exposure they would be subjected to while playing the game.
If there are high levels of asbestos found, officials say they will be with the public to figure out what the next step will be.
