Bunker
Hill Mining and Metallurgical Complex Operable Unit 3 (a.k.a. Coeur d'Alene
River Basin site), Kootenai and Shoshone Counties, Idaho
Note to Correspondents: ATSDR representatives will
be available to talk with reporters from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 16th at
the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality,
2110 Ironwood Parkway in Coeur d'Alene.
For Immediate Release: December 16, 2004
ATLANTA - A public health assessment evaluating the possible public health
impacts of lead and other metals from the Bunker Hill Mining and Metallurgical
Site Operable Unit 3, also known as the Coeur d'Alene River Basin, will be
released by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) on
Dec. 17, 2004. The assessment will be available for public comment and review
through Feb. 15, 2005.
The assessment details work previously completed at the site and includes
agency findings and recommendations for clean-up and
lead poisoning prevention. The document can serve as a resource for the public
and the Basin Commission during implementation of the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) Record of Decision and during its five-year review. On the basis
of an evaluation of available site information and sampling data, general
findings conclude that:
A public health hazard exists for some residents
living in the area, primarily east of Lake Coeur d'Alene.
Visitors to the Coeur d'Alene River Basin should not be at risk because
long-term exposures to site-related contaminants are not anticipated.
Visitors to the Trail of the Coeur
d'Alenes should follow the recommended precautions. Leaving the paved portions
of the Trail may increase a person's exposure to metals, thus increasing the
risk of adverse health effects, particularly for those already exposed to
lead and other contaminants in their daily living environment.
People who do not comply with the fish-consumption
advisory issued by the state of Idaho may experience adverse health effects.
The current fish-consumption advisory issued by the state of Idaho recommends
specific actions that people should take to limit their consumption of particular
fish.
Recreation and occasional short-term
exposures to metals in contaminated water along the Spokane River represent
no apparent public health hazard.
Exposure to ambient air near smelter
operations posed a public health hazard in the past because of elevated levels
of particulate matter and sulfur dioxide. EPA reports the site is currently
in compliance with air standards.
The Coeur d'Alene River Basin site was added to the EPA National Priorities
List in 1983. It includes the River Basin extending from the Idaho/Montana
border westward to the Spokane arm of Lake Roosevelt in Washington. The site
covers 3,700 square miles and includes areas in Kootenai and Shoshone counties
in northern Idaho. It does not include the 21-square-mile Bunker Hill Superfund
area known as the "Box."
Metals released during mining and smelting operations contaminated the environment
within the site. The contaminant of greatest concern at the site is lead.
ATSDR has identified seven other chemicals of potential concern within the
site including aluminum, antimony, arsenic, cadmium, iron, manganese, and
zinc.
The public comment period is an opportunity for residents to review and comment
on agency findings or proposed activities noted in the assessment. The assessment
can be viewed at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/PHA/region_10.html#idaho,
and will be available for public comment and review through Feb. 15, 2005,
at
North Idaho College Library
1000 Garden Ave
Coeur d'Alene, ID 82814
St. Maries Public Library
822 W. College Ave
St. Maries, ID
Wallace Public Library
415 River St.
Wallace, ID 83873
Spokane Public Library
906 West Main Ave.
Spokane, WA 99201-0976
EPA Coeur d'Alene Field Office
1910 Northwest Blvd. Suite 208
Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814
EPA Seattle Office, Superfund Record Center
1200 Sixth Ave.
Seattle, WA 98101
Please send requests for copies of the public health assessment and comments
concerning the document to:
Chief, Records Management Activity, ATSDR
1600 Clifton Road, N.E. (MS E-60)
Atlanta, GA 30333
Comments received during the public comment period will be logged in to the
ATSDR administrative record for this public health assessment. Comments received,
without the names of individuals who submitted them, and ATSDR responses to
the comments will appear in an appendix to the final public health assessment.
Names of those who submit comments, however, will be subject to release for
requests made under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.
For more information, community members may contact Health Communications
Specialist Rose Jackson or Deputy Branch Chief Sven Rodenbeck, toll-free,
at 1-888-422-8737. ATSDR Senior Regional Representative Richard Kauffman also
may be contacted at 206-553-2632.