The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, today announced it is releasing the final public health assessment (PHA) focused on fish and shellfish in Vieques, Puerto Rico.

ATSDR finds that the fish and shellfish from Vieques present no apparent public health hazard from normal consumption patterns and are, therefore, safe to eat. Although several metals were detected in some of the fish and shellfish, the concentrations that were present were too low to be of health concern in virtually all exposure situations evaluated.

ATSDR conducts PHAs to report information about hazardous substances in the environment and evaluate whether exposure to those substances in the past, present or future could harm people in the area.

The PHA on fish and shellfish was conducted to determine if eating fish and shellfish caught on or around the island of Vieques could have adverse health effects.

In May 1999, an island resident petitioned ATSDR to evaluate whether any health problems in Vieques residents might be associated with potential releases of hazardous substances from military training activities on the island. ATSDR responded by conducting a series of focused public health assessments on the pathways (air, soil, groundwater/drinking water and fish/shellfish) by which exposure could occur.

In July 2001, ATSDR, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Response Team, collected commonly caught and consumed fish and shellfish from the coastal waters and from land near shore on Vieques. ATSDR evaluated whether the muscle tissues of the fish and shellfish contained levels of heavy metals and explosive compounds that would adversely affect public health.

The PHA will be available on July 21, 2003, at the following records repositories:

Biblioteca Publica
Municipio de Vieques
Calle Carlos Lebrum 449
Vieques, PR

The Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust
El Fideicomiso de Conservacion E Historia de Vieques
138 Flamboyan St.
Vieques, PR

University of Puerto Rico
School of Public Health
Medical Sciences Campus Library
Industrial Hygiene Department
San Juan, PR

Community members seeking information on the procedures or the content of the public health assessment may contact Environmental Health Scientist Gary Campbell, Environmental Health Scientist Jeff Kellam or Health Communication Specialist Maria Teran-MacIver toll free at 1-888-422-8737. Regional Representative Arthur Block also may be contacted at 212-637-4307. When calling, please refer to the Vieques fish/shellfish PHA.