What: The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has released the final version of its public health assessment for the Davis Park Road TCE (trichloroethene) site in Gastonia, North Carolina.
ATSDR reviewed available data for the site and determined that the Davis Park Road TCE site poses no public health concerns at this time. Residents are no longer drinking contaminated water, and levels of contaminants in the soil are too low to cause illness.
ATSDR has, however, recommended that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continue monitoring the groundwater at the site to confirm that contamination levels are decreasing.
Where: The public health assessment for the Davis Park Road TCE site in Gastonia is available at the following repository:
Gaston County Public Library
1555 E. Garrison Boulevard
Gastonia, NC 28054
Contact: Carol McDonald at (704) 868-2164
Background: Public health assessments 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. They identify health studies or other activities that might be needed and make recommendations to other government agencies, such as EPA and state and local health and environmental departments, concerning actions to protect public health.
Comments received during the public comment period for the public health assessment have been logged and are now part of the administrative record for the assessment. Comments (without indication of who made them) and responses have been included in the final health assessment.
Community members seeking information on the procedures or content of the health assessment should contact ATSDR Health Assessor Jill Dyken, toll free, at 1-888-42-ATSDR (1-888-422-8737). Callers should refer to the "Davis Park Road TCE site" when asking to speak to a health assessor in the Division of Health Assessment and Consultation. ATSDR Regional Representative Bob Safay in Atlanta also may be called for information at (404) 562-1782.
Members of the news media are requested to make an appointment to interview ATSDR staff. Phone John Florence, in the ATSDR Office of Policy and External Affairs, at (404) 498-0070.