ATSDR - PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT FOR BARBER ORCHARD SITE IN WAYNESVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA

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ATSDR MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT
Public Health Assessment
for Barber Orchard Site
in Waynesville, North Carolina

For Immediate Release: April 24, 2002

What: The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a federal public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, today announced the availability of the public comment version of its health assessment for the Barber Orchard site in Waynesville, North Carolina.

ATSDR prepared the public health assessment to evaluate the potential for environmental contaminants from the site to cause harm to human health. The agency conducted a thorough evaluation of available environmental monitoring data and examined possible ways people might come into contact with contaminants. ATSDR determined that the primary contaminants of concern at the site are arsenic and lead in surface soil and pesticides in groundwater. The public health assessment addresses these and makes the following conclusions:

Current exposures to site contaminants are not likely to result in adverse health effects. Residents are filtering their water to remove contaminants. In addition, frequently used areas of residential lots with high arsenic and lead soil levels have been cleaned up to safe levels. An ATSDR exposure investigation indicated that lead and arsenic levels in the bodies of people living on the site were well within normal ranges. Although the chance of a significant exposure occurring is considered to be extremely small, children who habitually eat soil could experience reversible health effects if they eat contaminated soil from uncleaned or undeveloped areas of the property.

In the past, residents who regularly drank well water containing the highest levels of pesticides may have had a slightly increased risk of cancer or immune system effects. In addition, past exposures of children to the highest concentrations of arsenic and lead in site soils may have increased the risk of health effects. However, the exposure pathways for arsenic and lead were disrupted within a relatively short time frame, so past exposures are not likely to lead to health effects at this time.

ATSDR recommends that homeowners with elevated well water contaminants continue to filter water from their private wells and that new homes be connected to the Waynesville municipal water supply. ATSDR recommends that people living on the site be informed of ways to avoid potential health effects that children might experience if they eat contaminated soil. ATSDR also recommends that appropriate removal and remedial actions (such as EPA and other agencies are carrying out) continue in order to reduce the chance of exposure to high levels of arsenic or lead in soil. Vacant lots should be tested for these contaminants before property transfers or development occurs.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a federal public health agency of the US Department of Health and Human Services, today announced the availability of the public comment version of its health assessment for the Barber Orchard site in Waynesville, North Carolina.

When/Where: The draft public health assessment will be available for public review and comment on or about April 24, 2002, at the following repository:

Haywood County Public Library
678 South Haywood Street
Waynesville, NC 28786

The public comment period will end May 23, 2002.

How: This public health assessment is published as a draft version for public comment. The 30-day public comment period is to provide members of the community an opportunity to review the document, ask questions, provide written comments, or discuss additional information that is relevant to the health assessment. Following the public comment period, all comments received will be reviewed and addressed in a final version of the public health assessment.

Please send written comments to the following address:

Chief, Program Evaluation, Records and Information Services Branch
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
1600 Clifton Road, Mailstop E-56
Atlanta, Georgia 30333

Background: Public health assessments 1) identify contaminants in the environment at hazardous waste sites, 2) evaluate the potential for past, present, and future human exposure to those contaminants, which could cause adverse health effects in area residents, 3) specify further health or environmental activities warranted at a site, and 4) recommend further actions needed to protect public health by other government agencies (such as the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal, state and local health and environmental agencies).

Written comments received during the public comment period will be logged and become a part of the administrative record ATSDR maintains for the health assessment. Public comments and ATSDR's responses to them will be included in an appendix to the final health assessment when it is published. Names of persons who have submitted comments will not be published in the final health assessment, but the names are subject to release, if requested, under the provisions of the US Freedom of Information Act.

For More Information: Community members seeking information on the procedures or content of the pubic health assessment may call Jill Dyken, ATSDR Health Assessor, toll free, at 1-888-422-ATSDR (1888-422-8737). Callers to the toll-free number should refer to the "Barber Orchard, Waynesville, North Carolina site" or call Bob Safay, ATSDR Regional Representative, at 404-4562-1782.

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This page last updated on August 23, 2002
For more information, contact ATSDR at:
1-888-422-8737 or e-mail: atsdric@cdc.gov(public inquiries)
e-mail: atsdmediainquiries@cdc.gov (news media)