The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region IV will host two public information sessions in Columbus, MS on Tuesday, Nov. 28.

The public information sessions will be held at the Hunt Intermediate School located at 924 20th Street North in Columbus from 4 to 6 pm and 7 to 9 pm. Community members can attend either the 4 pm or the 7 pm session (the same information will be discussed at both sessions). ATSDR and EPA will begin each public information session by updating the residents on activities at the site. Afterward, each community member can speak one on one with ATSDR and EPA representatives.

Until 2003, the Kerr McGee Chemical Corporation used creosote and creosote tar solutions or Pentachlorophenol to make pressure treated wood products. Contamination was later discovered in sediment samples from off-site drainage ditches and in soil samples from private residences.

For more information, community members may contact Loretta Bush, Health Communications Specialist at 404-498-1742, Teresa Foster, Environmental Health Scientist at 404-498-0459 or Gregory Zarus, Environmental Health Scientist at 404-498-0507; or Russ McLean, EPA Project Officer, Region IV at 404-562-8504.

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.