ATSDR - NAB Little Creek in Virginia Beach, Va.

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ATSDR MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT

ATSDR Issues Final Assessment on NAB Little Creek in Virginia Beach, Va.

Finding Is No Apparent Public Health Hazard from Base Contaminants

For Immediate Release: Oct. 17, 2003

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 is issuing the final public health assessment for the U.S. Naval Amphibious Base (NAB) Little Creek. The site is on the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia Beach and Norfolk, Va.

This public health assessment evaluates the possible exposure of residents on the base and surrounding area to contaminants from NAB Little Creek. The assessment also addresses area residents' health concerns that might be associated with current and past releases of contaminants from NAB Little Creek.

The final public health assessment concludes:

There is no apparent public health hazard to the residents of NAB Little Creek and surrounding areas to contaminants from NAB Little Creek.
Residents should adhere to the current prohibitions and restrictions of "No fishing and crabbing and other shell fishing" for Little Creek Harbor. ATSDR recommends that the Commonwealth of Virginia and Navy verify, through sampling, that edible fish and crabs in the harbor are free from chemical pollutants before lifting any of the current prohibitions and restrictions.
Houses in the Turner Road neighborhood area built before 1978 may have been painted with lead-based paint. Residents of these homes should follow the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Virginia Department of Health recommendations on screening for elevated blood-lead levels in children under age 6. Also, families should contact their health-care provider or the local health department if they believe they have been exposed to lead.

The health assessment is available for review at the following Virginia repositories:

Bayside Area Library
936 Independence Blvd.
Virginia Beach

Little Creek Library
7853 Tarpon Place
Norfolk

Central Library
4100 Virginia Beach Blvd.
Virginia Beach

NAB Little Creek Library
Building 3004, 8th St.
Norfolk

For more information, community members may contact Charles Grosse at 1-888-422-8737. ATSDR Region III Representative Tom Stukas also may be contacted at 215-814-3142. Callers should refer to the NAB Little Creek site in Virginia.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 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 may request an interview with ATSDR staff by calling Elaine McEachern or Jennifer Sarginson in the ATSDR Office of Policy and External Affairs at 404-498-0070.

Back to ATSDR Home page

Updated by R. Searfoss October 20, 2003
For more information, contact ATSDR at:
1-888-422-8737 or e-mail: atsdric@cdc.gov (public inquiries)
404-498-0080 or e-mail: atsdrmediainquires@cdc.gov (news media)