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 its Exposure Investigation report for thePCB site in Anniston, Alabama, for public review and comment. The report is being reissued as a draft for public comment at the request of members of the community who expressed interest in reviewing the document prior to its publication as a final report.

ATSDR conducted this Exposure Investigation to address questions related to exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the community around the Solutia, Inc., facility in west Anniston. Previous investigations conducted by the Alabama Department of Public Health and ATSDR indicated that some residents in the communities surrounding the facility have been exposed to PCBs. Although PCB contamination of the environment has been documented, the sources of human exposure to PCBs have not been well defined. In addition, it is uncertain whether human exposures to PCBs are continuing.

The purpose of this exposure investigation was to assess the level of exposure for children and their families living near the facility. With the assistance of the state health department and the cooperation of the west Anniston community, ATSDR invited 18 families with children between 1 and 7 years old to participate. ATSDR collected blood samples from all family members, as well as soil and house dust samples from the residences. All samples were analyzed for PCBs. The results of these analyses and the conclusions drawn from them are presented in the draft exposure investigation report.

The results from this exposure investigation are not intended to represent the community at large. The conclusions are based solely on the biological and environmental samples of the participants. Additional public health activities are planned to provide a clearer picture of exposure to PCBs within the greater Anniston community.

An exposure investigation is one approach ATSDR uses to develop a better characterization of past, current, and possible future human exposures to hazardous substances in the environment. There are three main ways ATSDR can gather information in an exposure investigation: bio-medical testing (for example, blood or urine samples); environmental testing (for contamination of soil, air, or water); and exposure-dose reconstruction (using environmental sampling data and computer models to estimate past exposures). The results of exposure investigations are used to make public health decisions and to recommend appropriate public health actions.

The exposure investigation report will be available for public review and comment on or about November 17, 2000, at the following repositories:

The public comment period for the exposure investigation report will run from November 17, 2000 until December 29, 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 exposure investigation. Comments (without indication of who made them) and responses will be included in an appendix to the final exposure investigation report. Although names of those who have submitted comments will not be included in the final report, they are subject to release under the Freedom of Information Act.

Community members seeking information on the procedures of the exposure investigation, or the content of report, should contact ATSDR Toxicologist Ken Orloff, toll free, at 1-888-42-ATSDR (1-888-422-8737). Callers should refer to the "Anniston PCB site." The ATSDR Regional Representative, Carl Blair, also may be called for information at (404) 562-1786 in Atlanta.

For more information about PCBs and health effects related to exposure, please visit the ATSDR Web site, at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov, and click on the ToxFAQs for Polychlorinated Biphenyls-or PCBs.