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 that it has released two documents dealing with on-going health concerns related to the 1996 Montana Rail Link train derailment near Alberton, Montana.
For the past year, ATSDR has been working with the Alberton Community Advisory Group for Health Concerns to look into remaining health concerns related to the chlorine release which occurred in April 1996. As part of that effort, ATSDR is currently funding a Health Evaluation which is being conducted through the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics (AOEC). The goals of the evaluation are to: identify health effects in exposed individuals who undergo clinical evaluation; ensure that appropriate follow-up care made available through referrals; and provide environmental health education for local health-care professionals.
ATSDR, working with the Community Advisory Group, is also funding a Community Public Health Needs Assessment. The needs assessment will be administered through the National Association of City and County Health Organizations (NACCHO) and the Mineral County Environmental Health and Planning Office in Superior, Montana. The goal of the assessment is to identify environmental health needs and technical information needs in Alberton related to the Montana Rail Link derailment.
The draft scientific protocol for the health evaluation and the draft public health needs assessment are available for public review and comment at the following locations:
Mineral County Health Department
P.O. Box 396
Superior, MT 59872
|
Superior Public Library
301 East 2nd Avenue
Superior, MT 59872
|
The Side Track Café
Alberton, MT 59820
|
Alberton Town Hall
Alberton, MT 59820
|
Alberton Public Library
c/o Alberton Senior Citizens Center
Alberton, MT 59820
|
Missoula County Health Department
301 West Alder
Missoula, MT 59802
|
Missoula Public Library
301 East Main
Missoula, MT 59802-4799 |
Frenchtown Rural Fire District
P.O. Box 119
Frenchtown, Montana 59834 |
The health evaluation protocol will be available for public comment until May 30, 1999. Comments can be sent to Dr. Cynthia Lewis-Younger, at the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, by electronic mail. The e-mail address is: cyounger@dfpm.utah.edu.
For regular mail, the address is:
Dr. Cynthia Lewis-Younger
Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health
Bldg. 512
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah 84112
The public health needs assessment will be available for public comment until May 24, 1999. Comments for this document can be sent to Wayne Marchwick, at the Mineral County Environmental Health and Planning Office, by electronic mail to spr3526@montana.com. Written comments can be addressed to:
Wayne Marchwick, R.S.
Mineral County Environmental Health and Planning Office
P.O. Box 396
300 River Street
Superior, Montana 59872
Members of the public who would like to obtain a copy of either document, or who have additional questions, can contact ATSDR Regional Representative Chris Poulet in Denver at (303) 312-7013. Copies of the documents can also be requested by mail from:
ATSDR Region VIII
Mail Stop 8 ATSDR
999 18th Street
Denver, CO 80202.