ATSDR MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT

ATSDR to hold community meeting Aug 11 to discuss findings of its public health assessment on the Lawrence Livermore National Lab Site

Agency finds 'no apparent public health hazard'

For Immediate Release: August 3, 2004

ATLANTA - The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) will hold a community meeting Aug.11 to discuss its findings from the public health assessment conducted on the Lawrence Livermore National Lab site (LLNL). The assessment concludes that there is "no apparent public health hazard."

The community meeting will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Chianti Room located behind Fire Station No. 6, 4550 East Avenue, Livermore, Calif. Residents will have an opportunity to ask ATSDR representatives about public health findings regarding the site.

In 1987, LLNL was placed on the Superfund National Priorities List on the basis of volatile organic compounds in monitor wells and nearby drinking water wells.

ATSDR concludes in the public health assessment that past and ongoing operations and releases from the LLNL facility, including the Naval Air Station previously on this site, show "no apparent public health hazard."

This conclusion means that although community exposures to site-related contaminants might have occurred or might be occurring, the resulting doses are too low to make people sick.

For more information, community members can contact Health Communication Specialists LaFreta Dalton or Loretta Bush toll-free at 1-888-422-8737. Regional Representative Gwen Eng also may be contacted at 415-947-4317. Callers should refer to the Lawrence Livermore National Lab Site in Livermore, Calif.

ATSDR, a federal public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, evaluates the human health effects of exposure to hazardous substances. Established by Congress in 1980 under the Superfund law, ATSDR conducts public health assessments at each of the sites on the EPA National Priorities List, as well as other sites when petitioned. Headquartered in Atlanta, ATSDR is staffed by more than 400 health professionals including epidemiologists, physicians, toxicologists, engineers and public health educators.

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Members of the news media can request an interview with ATSDR staff by calling Jennifer Sarginson or Jill Smith in the ATSDR Office of Communication at 404-498-0070.