The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced today the release of the final version of its public health assessment of several properties in the vicinity of the Stauffer Chemical Superfund Site.

ATSDR prepared the health assessment in response to requests from residents who expressed concern that phosphate slag might be adversely affecting their health. The slag, which resulted from the plant’s operations, was used off-site for road bedding, road and driveway paving, and in concrete structures. The health assessment addresses the Gamma Radiation surveys and sampling of slag materials which were conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) in Tarpon Springs.

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 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and state and local health and environmental departments, concerning actions to protect public health.

Public health assessments rely on three sources of information: environmental data, health data and reports of community concerns. Environmental data detail the chemicals at a site and indicate their potential pathways to reach humans. Health data include reports of injury, disease or death in the community, as well as information on the known human effects of chemicals at the site. Reports of community concerns document the public’s descriptions of how the site affects their health and quality of life.

The health assessment will be made available for public review on or about August 20, 1999, at the following repository:

Tarpon Springs Public Library
138 East Lemon Street
Tarpon Springs, Florida 34684
Telephone: (813) 943-4922

Comments received during the public comment period have been logged and are now part of the administrative record for the health assessment. Comments (without indication of who made them) and responses have been included in an appendix to the final health assessment.

Community members seeking information on the procedures or content of the health assessment should contact ATSDR Health Assessor Michael Brooks, toll free, at 1-888-42-ATSDR (1-888-422-8737). Callers should refer to the "Stauffer Chemical Superfund site" when asking to speak with a Health Assessor in the Division of Health Assessment and Consultation. The ATSDR Regional Representative, Carl Blair, also may be called for information at (404) 562-1786 in Atlanta.