Anyone concerned about a Superfund site will want to know about a series of reports completed recently by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). The ATSDR has issued 951 "health assessments"--one each for every site on the federal Superfund list. These reports are free (see list of contact people below), and they have many uses.
An ATSDR "health assessment" looks at the chemicals known to exist at the site; it looks at the human populations near the site; and it looks at possible pathways by which humans might come into contact with the chemicals.
We have seen a few ATSDR health assessments and they look surprisingly useful. At the very least, they will provide you with additional ammunition to use in your local fight. The ones we have seen use strong language to describe the hazards that people may encounter on a Superfund site. You can use this strong language to prod the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), or your state agency, into action. You can use the strong language to press for funds to move humans away from the danger. Or you can use the strong language to get your local newspapers and TV people interested in your site.
Even if you don't have a particular Superfund site you're worried about, you can gather a few of these reports and use them to make the general point that hazardous chemicals loose in the environment cause problems, so hazardous chemicals must be brought under strict control. ATSDR is part of the national Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia. ATSDR has 10 offices around the country with two people in each office; you should contact your nearest office to get free copies of the Health Assessments that interest you. Here is the list of ATSDR contact people, many of whom are housed in your regional EPA office:
Region I: Marilyn DiSirio [phone: (617) 573-5719)] and Louise House [phone: (617) 573-5726], EPA Regional Office, HSL-CAN 3, John F. kennedy Building, Boston, MA 02203;
Region II: William Q. Nelson [phone: (212) 264-7662] or Denise Johnson [same phone], EPA Region II, Rm. 737, 26 Federal Plaza, New York, NY 10007.
Region III: Charles J. Walters [phone: (215) 597-7291] or Lynn Catherine Wilder [phone: (215) 597-2711], EPA Region III, Hazardous Waste Management Division, 841 Chestnut Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107.
Region IV: Chuck Pietrosewicz [phone: (404) 347-3931] or S. Cody Jackson [same phone], EPA Region IV, Waste Management Division, 345 Courtland St., NE, Atlanta, GA 30365.
Region V: Louise Fabinski [phone: (312) 353-8228] or Denise Jordan-Izaguirre [phone: (312) 353-8231], EPA Region V, Emergency and Remedial Branch 5HR, 230 South Dearborn, Chicago, IL 60604.
Region VI: Carl Hickam [phone: (214) 655-6725] or George Pettigrew [phone: (214) 655-2246], EPA Region VI, Office of Health Response, Allied Bank Tower at Fountain Plaza, 1445 Ross Ave., Dallas, TX 75202.
Region VII: Daniel Harper [phone: (913) 236-2856] or David Parker [same phone], EPA Region VII, Waste Management Branch, 726 Minnesota Ave., Kansas City, KS 66101.
Region VIII: Michael McGeehin [phone: (303) 294-7147], or Tamara Kicera [phone: (303) 294-7146], Region VIII, 8HWM-SR, Suite 500, 999 18th St., Denver, CO 80202.
Region IX: Donald Hawkins [phone: (415) 974-0563], or Gwen Eng [phone: (415) 974-0564], EPA Region IX, Toxic Waste Management Division, 215 Fremont St., San Francisco, CA 94105.
Region X: Joel Mulder [phone: (206) 442-2711], or Greg Thomas [phone: (206) 442-2113], EPA Region X (M/S HW113), 1200 6th Ave., Seattle, WA 98101.
Or order the report you want from: Steve Von Allmen, Health
Assessment Coordination Activity Office, ATSDR, Chamblee Complex,
1600 Clifton Road, NE, Atlanta, GA 30333; phone: (404) 488-4605.
--Peter Montague, Ph.D.
Descriptor terms: atsdr; superfund; studies; statistics; health assessments; health studies; cdc; telephone; telephones;