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 its health consultation evaluating lead in soil at residences in west Anniston, Alabama, will be available for public review and comment beginning August 7, 2000.
ATSDR prepared the health consultation after reviewing soil sampling data collected and provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. Analysis indicated that the soil in some of the samples contained elevated levels of lead.
An ATSDR health consultation provides conclusions and recommendations on specific public health issues related to actual or potential exposure to hazardous substances. ATSDR prepares about 1,000 health consultations every year. Most of the requests come from the EPA and state and local health and environmental departments.
The health consultation will be available for public review and comment on or about August 7, 2000, at the following repositories:
Anniston Public Library
108 East 10th Street
Anniston, AL 36202
Community Against Pollution
Headquarters
1012 West 15th Street
Anniston, AL 36201
Carver Library
722 West 14th Street
Anniston, AL 36201
Sweet Valley/Cobbtown Environmental
JusticeTask Force
7733 Highway 78 West
Eastaboga, AL 36260
Bethel Baptist Church
520 E. 6th Steet
Anniston, Al 36207
First Missionary Baptist Church
1100 Pine Grove Rd.
Anniston, Al 36201
Mars Hill Baptist Church
1508 W. 6th Street
Anniston, Al 36201
Seventeenth Street Baptist Church
801 W. 17th Street
Anniston, AL 36201
EPA Community Relations Office
1313 Noble Street
Anniston, AL
Copies of the health consultation will also be available at the EPA Data Availability Session in Anniston on Monday, August 7, 2000, at the Anniston City Meeting Center. Representatives from ATSDR will also be on hand to answer questions.
The public comment period for the health consultation will run from August 7 until September 11, 2000.
Please send written comments to:
Chief, Program Evaluation, Records and Information Services Branch
ATSDR
1600 Clifton Road, NE, Mailstop E-56
Atlanta, Georgia 30333
Comments received during the public comment period will be logged and become part of the administrative record for the health consultation. Comments (without indication of who made them) and responses will be included in an appendix to the final health consultation. Although names of those who have submitted comments will not be included in the final health consultation, they are subject to release under the Freedom of Information Act.
Community members seeking information on the procedures or the content of this health consultation should contact ATSDR Health Assessor Clement Welsh, toll free, at 1-888-42-ATSDR (1-888-422-8737). Callers should refer to the "Anniston 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.
For more information about lead and health effects related to exposure, please visit the ATSDR Web site, at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov, and click on the ToxFAQs.
Editors: Members of the news media are requested to make an appointment to interview ATSDR staff. Please contact Mike Grout or John Florence, ATSDR Office of Policy and External Affairs, at (404) 639-0501.