ATSDR Releases Public Comment Version of Focused Public Health Assessment on Fish and Shellfish for Vieques Bombing Range Site, Vieques, Puerto Rico

Wednesday, November 27, 2002
On This Page

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is releasing today for public comment a focused public health assessment (PHA) on fish and shellfish in Vieques, Puerto Rico.

ATSDR conducts PHAs to 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.

The PHA on fish and shellfish was conducted to determine if eating fish and shellfish caught on or around Vieques could have adverse effects on a person's health.

ATSDR finds that the fish and shellfish from Vieques are safe to eat. Even though several metals were detected in some of the fish and shellfish, the concentrations that were present were too low to be of health concern in virtually all exposure situations evaluated.

In May 1999, an island resident asked (petitioned) ATSDR to evaluate whether any health problems in Vieques residents might be associated with potential releases of hazardous substances from military training activities on the island. ATSDR responded by conducting a series of focused public health assessments.

In July 2001, ATSDR, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Response Team, collected commonly caught and consumed fish and shellfish from the coastal waters and near shore land on Vieques. ATSDR evaluated whether the muscle tissues of the fish and shellfish contained levels of heavy metals and explosive compounds that would adversely affect public health.

The draft health consultation is available for public review and comment at the following records repositories:

Biblioteca, Municipio de Vieques
Calle Carlos Le Brun 449
Vieques, PR 00765

El Fideicomiso de Conservacion E Historia
The Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust
Calle Flamboyan 138
Vieques, PR 00765

University of Puerto Rico
School of Public Health
Medical Sciences Campus Library
Industrial Hygiene Department
P.O. Box 365067
San Juan, PR 00936-5067

The public comment period ends January 27, 2003. ATSDR welcomes comments from the public. Send written documents to the following address:

Chief, Programs, Evaluation, Records and Information Services Branch
Division of Health Assessment and Consultation
ATSDR Mailstop E-32
1600 Clifton Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30333

Comments received during the public comment period will be logged into the administrative record of the health consultation. Public comments and ATSDR's responses will be included in an appendix to the final health consultation when it is released. Although the names of those who submit comments will not be included in the final health consultation, the names are subject to release to requests made under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.


Top of Page



Related News Releases For Vieques County, Vieques, Puerto Rico


Release Date:  Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Following a thorough review of environmental, biological, and health data from the Puerto Rican island of Vieques, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) released its final report today.

Release Date:  Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Basado en una revisión minuciosa de los datos ambientales, biológicos y de salud de la isla de Vieques, Puerto Rico, la Agencia para Sustancias Tóxicas y el Registro de Enfermedades (ATSDR por sus siglas en inglés) publicó hoy su informe final.

Release Date:  Friday, November 13, 2009
ATLANTA - The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has signaled its intent to modify some of its earlier conclusions about health risks to residents of the Island of Vieques. The decision was shared during a meeting with scientists from Puerto Rico and followed a thorough review of ATSDR public health assessments finalized in 2003 and other environmental studies of the island conducted in the intervening years. ATSDR's re-examination of the data comes as part of a "fresh look" the federal public health agency pledged to island residents and Congress.

Release Date:  Friday, November 13, 2009
ATLANTA-La Agencia para Sustancias Tóxicas y el Registro de Enfermedades (ATSDR por sus siglas en inglés) ha señalado su intento de modificar algunas de sus primeras conclusiones sobre los riesgos de salud de los residentes de la Isla Vieques. La decisión fue compartida durante una reunión con científicos de Puerto Rico después de una revisión comprensiva de las evaluaciones de salud pública que la ATSDR finalizó en el 2003 y otros estudios ambientales de la isla elaborados en los años siguientes. La reexaminación de los datos forma parte de la “mirada fresca” que la agencia de salud pública prometió a los residentes de la isla y al Congreso.

Release Date:  Monday, September 15, 2003
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, today released a final public health assessment (PHA) that investigated the air pathway for possible contaminants from the U.S. Navy's bombing range site on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. The PHA finds that exposure to air contaminants potentially released from Navy property on Vieques poses no apparent health hazard.

Release Date:  Friday, October 26, 2001
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 availability of the draft version of its Focused Public Health Assessment, Soil Pathway Evaluation, for Isla de Vieques, Puerto Rico.

Release Date:  Tuesday, October 23, 2001
The Ponce School of Medicine and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, today jointly are releasing the Summary Report for the Vieques Heart Study Expert Panel Review.


Top of Page

Page last reviewed: November 27, 2002