The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has released three new health consultations as part of the Midlothian Area Air Quality Petition Response. The federal agency invites the public to review the reports and submit their comments before November 23, 2015.

The first health consultation evaluated available health outcome data to address the community concerns regarding possible adverse health impacts from the site. Community concerns include birth defects, cancer, and respiratory problems. “After analyzing all available health outcome data, ATSDR found no differences in the health status of Midlothian residents compared to other communities in Texas,” says Michelle Watters, Chief Medical Officer, ATSDR’s Division of Community Health Investigations.

The goal of the second health consultation was to evaluate the animal health issues reported by residents living in the Midlothian area. This report also provides the results from the exposure investigation conducted by ATSDR that looked at chromium and other metal concentrations in the blood and serum from dogs living in Midlothian and outside the Midlothian area.

The third health consultation evaluated levels of metals and Volatile Organic Compounds in the air of Midlothian. “Air quality has improved over the air monitoring period we evaluated, but short-term health effects are still possible with infrequent chemical releases at the facilities,” says Michelle Colledge, ATSDR regional representative, ATSDR’s Division of Community Health Investigations.

ATSDR released a final health consultation for the Midlothian site on July 28, 2015 that reported on pollutants (e.g., inorganic pollutants, VOCs, lead, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide), time frames, and locations for which the available data support reaching health conclusions. It also identified gaps in the data where more information is needed to adequately assess community exposures.

To read the health consultations visit: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/midlothian/

Copies of the health consultations can be reviewed during regular hours of operation at the A.H. Meadows Library, 921 S. 9th Street, Midlothian.

ATSDR will accept comments from the public until November 23, 2015. “The public comment process gives residents the opportunity to review documents, ask questions, and provide their input,” says Jennifer Lyke, regional representative in Dallas TX, ATSDR’s Division of Community Health Investigations. ATSDR’s response to those comments will be included in the appendices of the respective final documents.

Comments on the documents must be made in writing to: ATSDRRecordsCenter@cdc.gov, or mail to:

ATSDR Records Center
Attn: Rolanda Morrison
Re: Midlothian Site- [Name of specific health consultation]
4770 Buford Highway, NE (MS F-09)
Atlanta, Georgia 30341

For more information about ATSDR’s work in Midlothian, TX visit http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/midlothian/ or call 1-800-CDC-INFO.

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.