The federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has released a final report of the public health assessment (PHA) the agency completed on the Safety Light Corporation Superfund Site located at 4150-A Old Berwick Road, Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. ATSDR does PHAs at a site to find out if people are being exposed to hazardous substances from the site, and if so, whether the exposures are harmful and should be stopped or reduced.

For the Safety Light Site PHA, ATSDR reviewed and analyzed available information including results of testing of soil and water samples from the facility grounds and nearby private wells, as well as air data collected during building demolition. ATSDR’s analyses showed that various contaminants were detected in the samples, including radioactive substances, metals, and organic compounds.

One of the contaminants detected was radium, which decays to radon gas. ATSDR determined that radon gas in the buildings formerly occupied on the site was a health hazard to workers during times the facility was operational. ATSDR recommends that people who worked in these buildings consult their doctors, because they may have been exposed to contaminants with the potential to harm their health.

ATSDR’s analyses for the other contaminants detected indicated that no negative health effects are expected from exposure to those contaminants, because people were not exposed at levels high enough to be harmful.Therefore, the other contaminants are not a hazard to public health, and no further action is needed concerning those contaminants.

The final report can be viewed on ATSDR’s website at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/pha/SafetyLightCorporation/SafetyLightCorporationFinalPHA12-4-2009.pdf or during normal operating hours at the Bloomsburg Area Public Library at 225 Market Street in Bloomsburg. A copy also can be requested from the ATSDR Records Center.

For more information about the Safety Light Site and the ATSDR PHA for the site, call Paul Charp at 770-488-0723 or CDCInfo at 1-800-CDC-INFO and ask for the Safety Light Corporation Site team.

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ATSDR, a federal public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, evaluates the human health effects of exposure to hazardous substances.

Members of the news media can request an interview by calling the NCEH/ATSDR Health Communication Science Office at 770-488-0700 or e-mailing envhealthmedia@cdc.gov.