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 draft results of its public health assessment for the Washington Navy Yard (WNY), in Washington, D.C.

Based on current available information, ATSDR concludes that:

• groundwater poses no public health hazard since groundwater underlying WNY has not been used for domestic water supplies. 

• the infrequent, short-duration exposure to chemical contaminants in surface water and sediment as no apparent public health hazard.

• while past exposure to contaminated soil, may have posed a past health hazard, current and potential future exposures are minimal, if at all, and pose no apparent public health hazard.

• the consumption of local fish could pose a public health hazard, and the no fish consumption advisory issued by the Washington, D.C., Department of Public Health for the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers should continue to be observed. Additional signs urging people to adhere to the advisory may be needed at key public access points along the Anacostia River, and the National Park Service should improve the visibility of the fishing advisory signs in Anacostia Park.

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.

In preparing public health assessments, ATSDR health assessors rely on various sources of 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 health assessment will be made available for public review and comment on September 28, 2001 at the following repositories:

The public comment period for the health assessment will run from September 28, 2001, through October 31, 2001.

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 assessment. Comments (without indication of who made them) and responses will be included in an appendix to the final health assessment. Although names of those who have submitted comments will not be included in the final health assessment, they are subject to release under the Freedom of Information Act.

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). Callers should refer to the "Washington Navy Yard" when asking to speak with a Health Assessor. The ATSDR Regional Representative, Thomas Stukas, also may be called for information at (215) 814-3142 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.