Report Released on Servicemembers’ Past Environmental Exposures at the Former Fort McClellan

Tuesday, January 14, 2025
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ATLANTA, GA - Today, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a federal public health agency, released its health consultation report, Public Health Implications for Servicemembers’ Past Exposures to Environmental Contaminants (Chemical or Radiological) in Non-Occupational Areas or While Engaging in Non-Occupational Activities at Fort McClellan, Calhoun County, Alabama.

The report is in response to a petition that asked ATSDR to assess the health risks for veterans stationed at Fort McClellan, Alabama, 1945-1999 and to analyze data from a Tumor Health Registry at Fort McClellan.

ATSDR conducted an evaluation of historical environmental sampling data, received from a veterans’ group and the Department of the Army, to determine whether servicemembers’ health could have been harmed due to past exposures to chemical and radiological contaminants in non-occupational areas or while engaging in non-occupational activities at Fort McClellan. The report does not evaluate exposures during military work-related duties or training.

ATSDR’s report concludes:

Servicemembers' past exposure to environmental contaminants – arsenic, iron, trichloroethylene (TCE), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), thallium, and manganese – while engaging in recreational and non-work activities at certain Fort McClellan sites (landfills, golf course, athletic field, Reilly Lake, Lake Yahou, and Cane Lake) is not expected to harm their health.

ATSDR also evaluated possible harmful health effects from exposure to radon, lead, and asbestos. ATSDR was not able to determine if exposure to asbestos could have harmed servicemembers’ health because many buildings onsite no longer exist and historical records are incomplete. ATSDR was able to determine that people who lived in or visited some on-base housing units and buildings may have been exposed to radon at levels that may have increased their risk for harmful health effects. ATSDR was also able to determine children’s health could have been harmed if they touched or swallowed lead from soil near some housing facilities.

The full report can be found at:  Alabama | Public Assessment & Health Consultation | ATSDR.

To protect public health, the health consultation recommends resources to learn more about environmental contaminants at the former Fort McClellan site:

RESOURCES

For more information about this ATSDR Health Consultation at the former Fort McClellan, contact 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636) or www.cdc.gov/info or visit www.atsdr.cdc.gov.


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Page last reviewed: January 14, 2025