Public works employees in Chico will now have access to early cancer detection screenings, following similar testing offered to police officers and firefighters earlier this summer.
The city council on Tuesday approved signing off on a three-year plan to offer GRAIL/ Galleri blood tests to public works employees. The test can detect more than 50 types of cancer.
The screenings will be available to all 103 public works employees and will cost up to $66,847 in the next fiscal year.
Cancer rates for public works employees have not been thoroughly studied nationally. Still, according to a staff report, employees “routinely perform work that exposes them to known and suspected carcinogens.” They also say federal occupational health agencies generally believe that repeated exposure to this kind of work increases cancer risk.
Hazardous public works tasks cited included cleaning up homeless encampments, working with thermoplastic street markings and operating diesel equipment. The City says services like graffiti removal and asphalt work may also put workers at risk of exposure.
The City says identifying cancer early on can improve treatment outcomes and the impact on long-term health for employees.
The same cancer screening program was expanded to include all firefighters and police in June of 2025. After some councilors recommended including public works employees, the City revisited the program and expanded it again this week.
“Cancers associated with occupational exposure often develop after extended latency periods,” City staff said in its proposal, “making early detection a critical component of employee health protection.”
At the meeting, some councilors and residents questioned the tests’ credibility and performance.
Currently, multi-cancer-detection tests like the GRAIL/Galleri tests are not federally approved. That worries Chico resident Loree Monroe.
“I think it’s wonderful that you’re showing interest in employees,” Monroe said. “I do, however, have a problem with this particular test as part of your preventative health program, precisely because it’s not FDA approved.”
Council members Addison Winslow and Tom van Overbeek debated the product’s effectiveness. Winslow said he’s worried the tests could be “overhyped in a sales campaign.”
Van Overbeek defended the tests and supported their use.
“All it does is raise a flag and say to your oncologist, ‘hey, check for this.’” van Overbeek said. “It’s not designed to be a definitive diagnosis.”
Ultimately, the council voted 4-3 to implement the three-year program.
