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 the final version of its public health assessment for the Naval Construction Battalion Center site in Davisville, Rhode Island.

ATSDR prepares public health assessments for all sites on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Priority List. The site in Davisville was added to the list in 1989 because of contamination at Calf Pasture Point and Allen Harbor Landfill.

This public health assessment reflects the most recent work that ATSDR has done at the site. For this assessment, ATSDR reviewed available environmental data for groundwater, soil, surface water and sediment in the area, and data on chemical contamination in shellfish collected from Allen Harbor and Narragansett Bay.

Based on this evaluation, ATSDR concluded that groundwater, soil, surface water and sediment contamination currently pose no public health hazard. However, ATSDR did point out three areas for future consideration:

• Groundwater contamination from a site adjacent to the Naval Construction Battalion Center could affect human health if exposure occurs. ATSDR has recommended that future exposure be prevented through land use restrictions or remediation.
• ATSDR concluded that shellfish contamination from the site posed a public health hazard prior to 1984, when the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management instituted a shell-fishing ban in Allen Harbor. ATSDR concluded that a current and future public health hazard could exist if the ban is not continued or adhered to.
• ATSDR was unable to find any data on edible fish tissue for the area. The agency has recommended that edible fish in Allen Harbor and Narragansett Bay waters be analyzed for PCBs, PAHs, pesticides, and metals.

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

Public health assessments rely on three 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.

The final version of the health assessment will be made available for public review on or about July 20, 2001, at the following repositories:

Community members seeking information on the procedures or content of the health assessment should contact ATSDR Health Assessor Laura Frazier, toll free, at 1-888-42-ATSDR (1-888-422-8737). Please mention that you are calling about the Davisville Naval Construction Battalion Center site.