August 19, 2004, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) will hold an open house about the public comment version of its public health assessment for the Naval Construction Battalion Center (NCBC) site in Gulfport, Miss.
The open house will be from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Isaiah Fredericks Community Center, 3312 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Gulfport.
Members of the community are encouraged to attend the open house and will have the opportunity to ask questions about the public health assessment and to speak with staff from ATSDR and the Mississippi State Department of Health.
NCBC is an active base that covers 1,100 acres in Gulfport. NCBC stored approximately 850,000 gallons of Herbicide Orange between 1968 and 1977. As a result of spills and leaks at the Herbicide Orange Storage Area, chemical contamination migrated through the network of ditches on the base to locations beyond NCBC boundaries.
In response to community concerns, ATSDR met with representatives from the Navy and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, toured the facility, reviewed environmental sampling data, and spoke with community members and local health officials. As a result of its investigation, ATSDR concludes that chemical contaminants released from the Naval Construction Battalion Center site are not a public health hazard to the surrounding community.
Details of ATSDR's evaluation are contained in the public comment public health assessment document. Copies are available for review at the Gulfport Public Library's reference section at 1300 21st Avenue (Hwy 90). The public comment period for the public health assessment is Aug. 12 - Sept. 13, 2004. Comments on the public health consultation must be made in writing. Mail comments 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 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 consultation/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 can contact Community Involvement Specialist LaFreta Dalton, toll-free, at 1-888-422-8737. Senior Regional Representative Bob Safay also may be contacted at 404-562-1782. Callers should refer to the Naval Construction Battalion Center site in Gulfport, Miss.
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.
Established by Congress in 1980 under the Superfund law, ATSDR conducts public health assessments at each of the sites on the EPA National Priorities List, as well as other sites when petitioned. Headquartered in Atlanta, ATSDR is staffed by more than 400 health professionals including epidemiologists, physicians, toxicologists, engineers and public health educators.