The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, today announces the availability of a new fact sheet to update the Neodesha community about an ongoing investigation by ATSDR into local concerns about hazardous substances at the Former Amoco Refinery site in Neodesha, Wilson County, Kans.
Highlights from the fact sheet include the following:
ATSDR is investigating concerns about lead and other contaminants from the former refinery's operations on the site posing a health concern for area residents and those at the New Beginnings building on the site. The agency is looking into potential exposure routes, such as air, soil and groundwater.
ATSDR evaluates all available information about hazardous substances at a site to find out if exposure to the substances might cause harm to people. The four primary sources of information the agency looks at are site observation, environmental data, health effects data and community concerns.
The agency held a public availability session for residents at the W.A. Rankin Memorial Library on July 15, 2002, to learn more about community health concerns. ATSDR met and toured the area with representatives of BP Amoco and the Kansas Department of Health and the Environment (KDHE).
ATSDR representatives also met and toured the area with the community member who initially contacted the agency about conducting an investigation. Additionally, agency representatives from the ATSDR regional office have returned to Neodesha on several occasions to meet with the interested parties and address their concerns.
Since ATSDR's July 2002 site visit, the agency requested and received additional information from KDHE and RETEC, the BP Amoco contractor for the ongoing remediation work. ATSDR continues to work with KDHE, RETEC and BP Amoco to obtain additional environmental data for the evaluation.
The results of ATSDR's evaluation will be provided in a written document called a public health consultation (HC). This type of document provides advice on specific public health issues related to real or potential human exposure to hazardous substances. A public health consultation is a way for ATSDR to respond quickly to a need for health information on toxic substances and to make recommendations for actions to protect the public's health.
The Former Amoco Neodesha Refinery site HC will be available for public comment in spring 2003. When it is released, a 30-day public comment period will start. ATSDR will schedule a community availability session in Neodesha when the health consultation is released for comment.
Copies of the fact sheet will be available at the W.R. Rankin Memorial Library, 502 Indiana St., Neodesha, and are available from ATSDR.
Community members seeking information on the procedures or the content of the investigation, the fact sheet or the public health consultation, or seeking a copy of the fact sheet may contact Youlanda Outin, health communications specialist, or Amanda Gonzalez, environmental health scientist, toll free, at 1-888-422-8737. Regional Representative Shawn Blackshear also may be contacted in Kansas City at 913-551-1311. When calling, please refer to the Former Amoco Neodesha Refinery site.