What: The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, today announced the release of the public comment version of its public health assessment for the Lockwood Solvents Groundwater Plume site in Billings, Montana.

This public health assessment is being published as a draft for public comment. The public comment period is intended to give members of the community an opportunity to review ATSDR's findings, ask questions, provide comments, or discuss additional information which may be pertinent to the health assessment. Following the public comment period, all comments which have been received will be reviewed and will be addressed in a final version of the public health assessment.

In conjunction with the release of the document, ATSDR will host two public availability sessions in Billings to talk about the health assessment. Public availability sessions are not intended to be large-scale public meetings. Rather, they are an opportunity for members of the community to come in at any time during either of the sessions to talk one-on-one with ATSDR representatives about the health assessment, or about their health concerns related to the Lockwood Solvents site. The sessions are open to the public; however, individual conversations with ATSDR staff are private.

When/Where: The public health assessment will be available for public review and comment on or about February 20, 2002, at the following repository:

Montana State University
Billings Library 1500 North 30th Street 
Billings, Mont. Telephone: (406) 657-1656

The public comment period for the health assessment closes on April 12, 2002.

The public availability sessions to discuss the findings of the public health assessment will be held as follows:

How: Members of the public are encouraged to send their written comments concerning the public health assessment to:

Chief, Program Evaluation, Records and Information Services Branch
ATSDR
1600 Clifton Road, NE, Mailstop E-56
Atlanta, Georgia 30333

Background: ATSDR is a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ATSDR's mission is to prevent exposure and adverse human health effects and diminished quality of life associated with exposure to hazardous substances from waste sites, unplanned releases, and other sources of pollution present in the environment. Under the Superfund legislation, ATSDR is tasked with conducting a public health assessment on each site proposed for EPA's National Priorities List.

In preparing public health assessments, ATSDR health assessors rely on various sources of information. These sources may include: environmental data, health data and reports of community concerns. Environmental data detail the chemicals at a site and indicate their potential pathways to reach humans. Health data can include reports of injury, disease, or death in the community, as well as information on the known health effects of chemicals at the site. Reports of community concerns document the public's descriptions of how the site affects their health and quality of life.

Comments received during the public comment period will be logged and become part of the administrative record for the health assessment. Comments (without indication of who made them) and responses will be included in an appendix to the final health assessment. Although names of those who have submitted comments will not be included in the final health assessment, they are subject to release under the Freedom of Information Act.

For More Information: Community members who would like more information on the procedures or content of the document, should contact Teresa Foster, environmental health scientist, toll free at 1-888-42-ATSDR (1-888-422-8737). Callers should refer to the "Lockwood Solvents site" in Billings, Montana." ATSDR Regional Representative Dan Strausbaugh also may be called for information at (406) 457-5007 in Helena.