The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will conduct a public availability session in Billings, Montana, to discuss to discuss planned agency activities related to the Lockwood Solvents site.

The session will take place on Thursday, January 18, 2001, from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. at:

Lockwood Community Schools
1932 U.S. Hwy 87
Billings, Montana

Public availability sessions provide a forum for community members to meet one-on-one with ATSDR staff members to discuss health and site concerns. Attendance is open to the public, and people are invited to drop in at any time during the session. Individual conversations with the ATSDR staff during the session will be confidential.

ATSDR is holding the public availability session to provide residents with information about the agency and the agency's public health assessment process, and to gather information on community health concerns related to the site. Agency scientists will use the information as they prepare a public health assessment which will evaluate data for the Lockwood Solvents site to determine if contaminants from the site could impact the health of people in the area.

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 also identify other activities that might be needed to better understand the health effects associated with the site. Public health assessments also make recommendations to other government agencies, such as the 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. These sources may include: 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 can include reports of injury, disease, or death in the community, as well as information on the known health 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.

ATSDR is a federal public health agency which is responsible for preventing or reducing the harmful effects of exposure to hazardous substances on human health and quality of life.

Community members with additional questions or those who cannot attend the meeting can contact ATSDR Community Involvement Specialist Dan Holcomb, toll free, at 1-888-42-ATSDR (1-888-422-8737), extension 6064. ATSDR Regional Representative Dan Strausbaugh can also be contacted for information at (406) 441-1120, extension 257, in Helena, Mont.