ATSDR Seeks Comment On 35th Avenue Superfund Site Public Health Assessment

  Alabama
Thursday, June 26, 2014
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ATLANTA—The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is seeking public comment on its draft public health assessment on health effects of contaminants (chemicals or harmful substances) in the air around Walter Coke, Inc., also known as the 35th Avenue Superfund site, and surrounding communities in North Birmingham, AL.

ATSDR evaluated the results of air samples taken by the Environmental Protection Agency and Jefferson County Department of Health from the Collegeville, Fairmont, and Harriman Park neighborhoods between 1999 and 2012.

ATSDR found the following:

  • PM2.5 (tiny particles in the air, including dust, dirt, soot, smoke, that can trigger asthma attacks or cause other breathing problems) at levels that likely do not harm most people in the communities affected.
  • PM2.5 at levels that can cause problems when breathed by people at risk, including those with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or cardiovascular disease (heart trouble).
  • Some contaminants, including volatile organic compounds and metals, are at levels too low to cause health problems or cancer.
  • For other contaminants, such as benzene, there is a low risk of cancer in people who have been exposed throughout their entire life.

To view the draft public health assessment visit: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/hac/pha/publiccomments.asp

Copies of the public health assessment can be reviewed during regular hours at the Harriman Park Recreational Center, 4347 F. L. Shuttlesworth Drive, Birmingham, AL.

ATSDR will accept public comments on this draft health assessment until August 11, 2014. Comments on the document must be made in writing. ATSDR will address comments received during the public comment period in the final version of the health assessment. ATSDR will provide comments (without the names of persons who submitted them) and responses to the public comments in an appendix to the final health assessment. Names of persons who submit comments will be subject to release if the names are requested under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.

Send comments by e-mail to: ATSDR RecordsCenter@cdc.gov, or postal service mail to:

ATSDR Records Center
Attn: Rolanda Morrison
Re: 35th Avenue Superfund Site
4770 Buford Highway, NE (MS F-09)
Chamblee, Georgia 30341

Community members can call 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636) for more information about ATSDR’s work in North Birmingham.

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

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Related Web Site(s)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asked the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) to review the results of soil and air samples collected at properties in the Collegeville, Fairmont, and Harriman Park communities in north Birmingham, Alabama. These communities are now part of the 35th Avenue Site.

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Page last reviewed: June 26, 2014