ATSDR - Nansemond Ordnance Depot NPL Site in Suffolk, Virginia

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ATSDR MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT

ATSDR Issues Final Public Health Assessment on the
Former Nansemond Ordnance Depot NPL Site in Suffolk, Va.

Current Use of Site Poses No Apparent Health Hazard

For Immediate Release: March 4, 2004

ATLANTA - The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, today released the final version of its public health assessment regarding the former Nansemond Ordnance Depot (FNOD) National Priorities List (NPL) site in Suffolk, near Norfolk, Va.

FNOD is a former U.S. military facility where handling, processing and decommissioning of ordnance items (military weapons and ammunition) once occurred. Public health assessments are required by Congressional mandate for all proposed and listed NPL sites.

In the past, exposures to TNT and lead in soil were high enough to result in adverse health effects; ATSDR therefore classifies FNOD as a past public health hazard. At present, community members are not in contact with contaminants at levels high enough to result in health effects; therefore, ATSDR currently classifies the site as no apparent public health hazard. In the future, residential development is likely at the site; therefore, without proper cleanup or land use controls to prevent exposure to contaminants in soil or groundwater, the site could pose a future public health hazard.

ATSDR has made recommendations including continuing soil clean-up activities, testing soil, addressing physical hazards, following ordnance and explosives clearance procedures and educating potential landowners and occupants about possible hazards.

A limited number of copies of the public health assessment are available to community members at the following repositories:

Tidewater Community College
Portsmouth Campus Library
700 College Dr. Norfolk, VA 23510

Norfolk Corps of Engineers
803 Front St.
Portsmouth, VA 23701

Community members seeking information on the procedures or the content of the PHA may contact ATSDR Health Assessors Jill Dyken or Barbara Cooper, toll free, at 1-888-422-8737. Regional Representative Tom Stukas also may be contacted at 215-814-3142. Callers should refer to the Former Nansemond Ordnance Depot site in Suffolk, Va.

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 in the ATSDR Office of Communication at 404-498-0070.

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Updated by R. Searfoss March 4, 2004
For more information, contact ATSDR at:
1-888-422-8737 or e-mail (public inquiries)
404-498-0080 or e-mail (news media)