A report released by the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) says that residents living within a 36-acre area of Tiverton could have been exposed to soil contaminated with arsenic, lead, mercury, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the past and present.

For the report, called a public health consultation, ATSDR reviewed and evaluated soil samples collected from October 2002 through November 2003. The samples came from Tiverton roadways, residential properties, and the Bay View Recreation Area. The site boundaries for the collected samples are the Mount Hope Bay and a petroleum terminal to the west, Church Street to the east, State Avenue to the north, and Lepes Road to the south. The 2000 Census indicates that approximately 156 housing units and 400 residents are at the site.

Because of the environmental data limitations for the site, ATSDR has categorized this site as an "Indeterminate Public Health Hazard." ATSDR recommends:

• Additional environmental sampling for site-related contaminants and properties.
• Identifying and conducting blood lead screening for children under age 6 who live on properties where soil lead exceeded 400 mg/kg.

ATSDR also recommends that the Tiverton Town Council consider implementing measures to protect the public from potential long-term exposures to subsurface soil at the site.

The ATSDR public health consultation was released for public review and comment. The comment period runs from June 15, 2005 through July 18, 2005.

The public health consultation can be viewed at:
Essex Library Service (Tiverton Library)
238 Highland Road
Tiverton, RI 02878

Comments on the public health consultation must be made in writing. Mail comments to

Records Center, ATSDR
ATTN: Bay Street Tiverton Study Area
1600 Clifton Road, N.E. (MS E-60)
Atlanta, GA 30333

Comments received during the public comment period will be logged in to ATSDR's administrative record for the health consultation. Comments received, without the names of individuals who submitted them, and ATSDR's responses to the comments will appear in an appendix to the final public health consultation. Names of those who submit comments, however, will be subject to release to requests made under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.

For more information, community members can contact ATSDR Environmental Health Scientist Jane Zhu toll-free, at 1-888-422-8737 or Kate Robbins, ATSDR Region 1 Regional Representative, at 617-918-1493. Callers should refer to the Bay Street Tiverton Area Study, Tiverton, RI.

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 more than 400 health professionals including environmental health scientists, epidemiologists, physicians, toxicologists, engineers and public health educators.