What: 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 Exposure Investigation report for the PCB site in Anniston, Alabama. The report was released in November 2000 as a draft for public comment.
Why: 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. However, 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. 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.
How: 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 exposure investigation report.
Where: Copies of the report will be availableat the following repositories:
Anniston Public Library
108 East 10th Street
Anniston, AL 36202
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Community Against Pollution
1012 West 15th Street
Anniston, AL 36201
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Carver Library
722 West 14th Street
Anniston, AL 36201
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First Missionary
Baptist Church
1100 Pine Grove Rd.
Anniston, Al 36201
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Bethel Baptist Church
520 E. 6th Street
Anniston, Al 36207
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Sweet Valley/Cobbtown
Envir. Justice Task Force
7733 Highway 78 West
Eastaboga, AL 36260
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Mars Hill Baptist Church
1508 W. 6th Street
Anniston, Al 36201
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Seventeenth Street
Baptist Church
801 W. 17th Street
Anniston, AL 36201
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EPA Community
Relations Office
1313 Noble Street
Anniston, AL
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Background: 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.
For More information: Community members seeking information on the procedures of the exposure investigation, or the content of report, should contact ATSDR Environmental Health Scientist Clem Welsh, toll free, at 1-888-42-ATSDR (1-888-422-8737). Callers should refer to the "Anniston PCB site." 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.