What: 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 that the agency will hold a public availability session in Waynesville, North Carolina, to hear from residents of the community about their health concerns related to the Barber Orchard site and to talk with residents about future agency activities related to the site.

When: The public availability session in Waynesville will take place on Thursday, November 1, 2001, from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.

Where: The public availability session will be held at the Saunook Fire Station, 2892 Old Balsam Road, Waynesville, N.C.

Background: ATSDR is a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ATSDR's mission is to prevent exposure and adverse human health effects and diminished quality of life associated with exposure to hazardous substances from waste sites, unplanned releases, and other sources of pollution present in the environment.

Barber Orchard is a former orchard which has been developed into a residential area. Soil and groundwater were contaminated with pesticides used at the orchard. ATSDR is holding the public availability session to gather information as the agency prepares a public health assessment to determine if soil and groundwater contamination poses a current health risk or was a risk to residents in the past. ATSDR is preparing the public health assessment under its Congressional mandate to prepare an assessment for each site proposed for the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) National Priorities-or Superfund-List.

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 (EPA) and state and local health and environmental departments, concerning actions to protect public health.

In preparing public health assessments, ATSDR health assessors rely on various 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.

Public availability sessions are not intended to be large-scale public meetings. Rather, they provide an opportunity for members of the community to drop in at any time during the session to talk one-on-one with ATSDR staff members. The session is open to the public, but individual discussions with ATSDR staff are confidential.

For More Information: Community members seeking information about the public availability session, or about ATSDR and the public health assessment process, should contact Loretta Bush, ATSDR community involvement specialist, toll free, at 1-888-42-ATSDR (1-888-422-8737). Callers should refer to the "Barber Orchard site in Waynesville, North Carolina." ATSDR Regional Representative Bob Safay also may be called for information at (404) 562-1782 in Atlanta.