The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has categorized the outdoor air in the River Terrace area as an indeterminate public health hazard. ATSDR cites that critical scientific data are lacking to determine whether increased rates of respiratory health effects from outdoor air pollution exist in and around River Terrace.
For the report, called a public health assessment, ATSDR evaluated the only outdoor air monitoring data available for the River Terrace area: The Environmental Protection Agency's Aerometric Information Retrieval System (AIRS). The AIRS database is limited to data on air pollutants carbon monoxide, ozone, particulate matter, sulfate, and sulfur dioxide. The levels of these pollutants would not be expected to harm healthy River Terrace residents, although the maximum levels of ozone, sulfate, and particular matter may aggravate pre-existing respiratory diseases such as asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.
No other outdoor air pollutants have been monitored in or near the River Terrace community though other pollutants could have been emitted by local industry, and other sources. This lack of scientific data on other air pollutants in the River Terrace area meant ATSDR could not determine whether a public health hazard exists.
ATSDR recommends continued sampling of pollutants in the River Terrace area for the AIRS database, additional sampling of other pollutants in the River Terrace area, collection of health outcome data on respiratory ailments in River Terrace, and raising awareness about health issues related to outdoor air quality in River Terrace.
The public health assessment can be viewed online at:
Benning Branch Library
3935 Benning Road, NE
Washington, DC 20019
Capital View Branch Library
5001 Central Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20019
Deanwood Kiosk
4215 Nannie H. Burroughs Ave, NE
Washington, DC 20019
To request a copy of the public health assessment or for more information, community members may contact ATSDR staff Environmental Health Scientist Danielle Langmann or Community Involvement Specialist Loretta Bush, toll-free, at 1-888-422-8737. ATSDR Regional Representative Lora Werner may also be contacted in Philadelphia at 215-814-3141. Callers should refer to the River Terrace community in Washington, D.C.
For more information on the health effects of outdoor air quality, visit the National Center for Environmental Health air quality Web page at http://www.cdc.gov/health/airquality.html. 
Another federal Web site that provides national air quality information is http://airnow.gov/.
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. The agency also determines how hazardous a site is and recommends actions that need to be taken to safeguard people's health. Established by Congress in 1980 under the Superfund law, ATSDR conducts public health assessments and consultations at each of the sites on the EPA National Priorities List, as well as other sites when petitioned.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, ATSDR is staffed by health professionals including environmental health scientists, epidemiologists, physicians, toxicologists, engineers and public health educators.