HEALTH CONSULATION

NORTH GALLOWAY ROAD
YAKIMA, YAKIMA COUNTY, WASHINGTON

April 4, 2002

Prepared by:

Washington State Department of Health
Under a Cooperative Agreement with the
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

TABLE OF CONTENTS

GLOSSARY

BACKGROUND AND STATEMENT OF ISSUES

DISCUSSION

CONCLUSIONS

RECOMMENDATIONS/PUBLIC HEALTH ACTION PLAN

PREPARERS OF REPORT

REFERENCES

CERTIFICATION

GLOSSARY

Acute:

Occurring over a short period of time. An acute exposure is one which lasts for less than 2 weeks.

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR):

The principal federal public health agency involved with hazardous waste issues, responsible for preventing or reducing the harmful effects of exposure to hazardous substances on human health and quality of life. ATSDR is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Carcinogen:

Any substance that can cause or contribute to the production of cancer.

Chronic:

A long period of time. A chronic exposure is one which lasts for a year or longer.

Comparison value:

A concentration of a chemical in soil, air or water that, if exceeded, requires further evaluation as a contaminant of potential health concern. The terms comparison value and screening level are often used synonymously.

Contaminant:

Any chemical that exists in the environment or living organisms that is not normally found there.

Dose:

A dose is the amount of a substance that gets into the body through ingestion, skin absorption or inhalation. It is calculated per kilogram of body weight per day.

Epidemiology:

The study of the occurrence and causes of health effects in human populations. An epidemiological study often compares two groups of people who are alike except for one factor, such as exposure to a chemical or the presence of a health effect. The investigators try to determine if any factor (i.e., age, sex, occupation, economic status) is associated with the health effect.

Exposure:

Contact with a chemical by swallowing, by breathing, or by direct contact (such as through the skin or eyes). Exposure may be short-term (acute) or long-term (chronic).

Groundwater:

Water found underground that fills pores between materials such as sand, soil, or gravel. In aquifers, groundwater often occurs in quantities where it can be used for drinking water, irrigation, and other purposes.

Hazardous substance:

Any material that poses a threat to public health and/or the environment. Typical hazardous substances are materials that are toxic, corrosive, ignitable, explosive, or chemically reactive.

Indeterminate public health hazard:

Sites for which no conclusions about public health hazard can be made because data are lacking.

Ingestion rate:

The amount of an environmental medium which could be ingested typically on a daily basis. Units for IR are usually liter/day for water, and mg/day for soil.

Inorganic:

Compounds composed of mineral materials, including elemental salts and metals such as iron, aluminum, mercury, and zinc.

Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL):

A drinking water regulation established by the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. It is the maximum permissible concentration of a contaminant in water that is delivered to the free flowing outlet of the ultimate user of a public water system. MCLs are enforceable standards.

Media:

Soil, water, air, plants, animals, or any other part of the environment that can contain contaminants.

Minimal Risk Level (MRL):

An amount of chemical that gets into the body (i.e., dose) below which health effects are not expected. MRLs are derived by ATSDR for acute, intermediate, and chronic duration exposures by the inhalation and oral routes.

Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA):

The hazardous waste cleanup law for Washington State.

Oral Reference Dose (RfD):

An amount of chemical ingested into the body (i.e., dose) below which health effects are not expected. RfDs are published by EPA.

Organic:

Compounds composed of carbon, including materials such as solvents, oils, and pesticides which are not easily dissolved in water.

Parts per billion (ppb)/Parts per million (ppm):

Units commonly used to express low concentrations of contaminants. For example, 1 ounce of trichloroethylene (TCE) in 1 million ounces of water is 1 ppm. 1 ounce of TCE in 1 billion ounces of water is 1 ppb. If one drop of TCE is mixed in a competition size swimming pool, the water will contain about 1 ppb of TCE.

Route of exposure:

The way in which a person my contact a chemical substance that includes ingestion, skin contact and breathing.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):

Established in 1970 to bring together parts of various government agencies involved with the control of pollution.

Next Section