Note to Correspondents: ATSDR will be available to meet with the news media to discuss agency activities at the Keil Chemical site beginning at 5:00 p.m. on August 3, 1999, at George Rogers Clark High School in Whiting, Indiana. Those who cannot attend can make an appointment to interview ATSDR staff. Contact Mike Groutt, ATSDR Office of Policy and External Affairs, at (404) 639-0501, or via e-mail at the ATSDR Press Office at ATSDRPress@cdc.gov.
Atlanta – The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will hold a public information session regarding the Keil Chemical Company site in Hammond, Indiana.
The public information session will take place on Tuesday, August 3, 1999, from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. at the George Rogers Clark High School, 1921 Davis Avenue, Whiting, Indiana.
The public information session will give the community an opportunity to discuss their public health concerns related to the site with ATSDR representatives, and learn more about ATSDR. ATSDR will use the information from the session in the preparation of a health consultation for the site.
ATSDR was petitioned by Congressman Peter J. Visclosky to assist in addressing two issues: residents' concerns about children from the area who have been diagnosed with central nervous system (CNS) cancers, and concerns about whether emissions from Keil Chemical Company are a threat to public health.
ATSDR has requested environmental data from state and local environmental agencies and from Keil Chemical Company. ATSDR will be preparing a health consultation to address the concerns about plant emissions.
The Indiana State Department of Health is reviewing the reported cases of children 19 years and younger with CNS cancers and will provide results of their review to community members when the review is completed.
For additional information, contact ATSDR Community Involvement Specialist Loretta Bush, toll free, at 1-888-42-ATSDR (1-888-422-8737). You can also contact Clayton Koher at ATSDR's Regional Office in Chicago at (312) 886-0840.