PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT
Saipan Capacitors
(a/k/a Tanapag Village (Saipan))
Tanapag Village, Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Island
EPA Facility ID: MPD982524506
August 31, 2004

Prepared by:

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Division of Health Assessment and Consultation
Atlanta, Georgia




TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Summary
2. Public Health Issues
3. Background
   
   

   Where is Tanapag Village

   Who lives in Tanapag Village?

   What are PCBs?

   What are health concerns of exposure?

   When and how did PCBs come to Tanapag Village

   How did the PCBs spread throughout Tanapag Village?

   What has been done to understand PCB contamination in Tanapag Village, and what has been done to remove contamination?

   How is ATSDR involved in Tanapag Village?

4. Data Sources and Quality Assurance
5. Nature and Extent of Environmental PCB Contamination
   
   

   What were the results of the investigations conducted to understand PCB contamination at Tanapag Village?

   In addition to the investigations of PCBs, what are the results of investigations at the former Tanapag Fuel Farm and the Former Tanapag Military Disposal Site?

6. Potential Exposure Situations
   
   

   What is meant by exposure?

   How does ATSDR determine which exposure situations to evaluate?

   If someone is exposed, will they get sick?

   Who was/is exposed to PCBs in Tanapag Village?

   When did exposures begin? What is the exposure duration?

   How often were/are people exposed?

   How could people be exposed to PCBs in surface soil?

   How could people be exposed to PCBs in locally harvested foods?

   How could people be exposed to PCBs in surface water and sediment?

   How could people be exposed to PCBs in groundwater?

7. Evaluation of Pubic Health Impact of PCB Contamination
   
   

   Introduction

   Medical Screening and Clinical Evaluation of PCB Exposure

   Collection and Analysis of Blood Serum

   Exposure History Collection and Evaluation

   Public health implications of land crab contamination

8. Community Concerns
   
   

   How long ago did you have to be exposed for PCBs to show up in blood, tissue or breast milk?

   If blood results are out of the normal range, is it safe to breast feed my baby?

   If blood results are out of the normal range, is it safe to have children?

   If blood results are out of the normal range, should breast milk or fat tissue be sampled?

   Is there treatment available for PCB exposure?

   If my children play outside, will they get sick from PCB exposure?

   Is it safe to visit the cemetery?

   Is it safe to eat fish and crabs?

   Are foods like taro and yam safe to eat?

9. ATSDR's Child Health Initiative
10. Conclusions
11. Recommendations
12. Public Health Action Plan
    
    
    1. Completed Actions
    2. Recommended Actions


Report Authors


13. References



14. Appendices
    
    
    1. Tables and Figures
    2. ATSDR Activity Time line
    3. ATSDR Glossary of Environmental Health Terms
    4. Oral bioavailability of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) residues in soil
    5. Exposure history survey form
    6. Data Analysis Methods for Exposure History Survey
    7. Health consultation: Evaluation of Land Crab Contamination, July 2001
    8. Response to Public Comments

1. List of Tables
   
   

   Table 1. Surface soil sampling for PCB in Cemetery 1 area.

   Table 2. Surface soil sampling for PCB in Community Church area.

   Table 3. Surface soil sampling for PCB in Tanapag Beach area.

   Table 4. Surface soil sampling for PCB in Cemetery 2 area.

   Table 5. Surface soil sampling for PCB in Other Tanapag Village areas.

   Table 6. Biota sampling results.

   Table 7. Exposure situations and pathways summary.

   Table 8. Serum PCB distribution by consumption of land crab caught in Tanapag.

   Table 9. Relative risk of having detectable serum PCB concentrations ( 5 ppb) for those reporting past contact with capacitors, capacitor oils, or contaminated soil.

   Table 10. Comparison of total vs. congener-specific serum PCB sampling results.




2. List of Figures
   
   

   Figure 1. Saipan location map

   Figure 2. Tanapag location map

   Figure 3. EPA Multi-matrix sampling survey map: PCB Sample Locations - May 2000

   Figure 4. Tons of PCB-Contaminated Soil Removed from Tanapag Village, Saipan

   Figure 5. Maximum Pre-excavation PCB Concentrations in Surface Soil, Tanapag Village, Saipan

   Figure 6. Distribution of Serum PCB Concentrations Among Tanapag residents, May 2000

   Figure 7. Average Serum PCB Levels in Tanapag Residents by Age and Gender

   Figure 8. Lipid Corrected Serum PCB Comparison

   Figure 9. Landcrab Sampling Locations (December 2000)

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