An activist group is worried about a potential asbestos lung cancer risk in the wake of the recent Oroville Dam spillway failure in Northern California.

Oroville, Calif. is located about 75 miles north of Sacramento and about 25 miles southeast of Chico. It boasts the highest dam in the United States.

The Oroville Dam was built in the 1960s to prevent flooding in the area following a deadly flood season a decade before. It dams the Oroville Lake, a reservoir that holds about 3.5 million acre-feet of water. It also prevents nearby residents from experiencing possible flooding from the Feather River, the reservoir’s feeder.

In February 2017, Northern California had received the highest rainfall in recorded history. On Feb. 7, as water was released from the dam’s main spillway, a large crater formed from the force of the water release.

Unfortunately, both the spillway and the emergency spillway experienced failures and nearly 200,000 residents were forced to evacuate their homes because of the fear of dam failure. The dam ultimately did not fail and residents did not lose their homes, but the risk was great.

In the subsequent months, crews have been working hard to repair the spillway damage. An activist group, AquAlliance, has recently filed a lawsuit claiming the Department of Water Resources broke public records laws by denying the group’s request for information.

KTLA5 reported that the Department of Water Resources, DWR, found that after air and sediment testing at the construction site, naturally occurring asbestos was found.

According to the Sacramento Bee, AquAlliance, a water issues activist group based in Chico, claims that state officials are withholding information about a possible asbestos lung cancer risk by not releasing important documents and emails for public perusal. They believe that the DWR has broken state records laws by not releasing the emails when the group requested them.

AquAlliance said that the state has released nine documents pertaining to asbestos and asbestos lung cancer risk, but not the pertinent emails. The activist group claims that the DWR said the emails did not exist or that they were fell under attorney-client privilege and were therefore, private.

The group admits they do not know whether there is a legitimate concern about mesothelioma or asbestos lung cancer risk as it relates to asbestos near the Oroville Dam, but they are sure that state should not be hiding information from the public.

Asbestos lung cancer risk is a real public health concern. Asbestos, when released into the air, is highly carcinogenic. Those who have been exposed to asbestos often experience cancers like mesothelioma and asbestos-caused lung cancer many years after exposure.