ATSDR in Partnership With Minnesota
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is the lead
public health agency responsible for implementing the health-related provisions
of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of
1980 (CERCLA). ATSDR is an Atlanta-based federal agency with more than 400
employees and a budget for 2004 of approximately $73 million. ATSDR assesses the
presence and nature of health hazards at specific Superfund sites, helps to
prevent or reduce further exposure and illnesses resulting from those hazards,
and expands the knowledge base about the health effects of exposure to hazardous
substances.
ATSDR works closely with state agencies to carry out its mission to serve the
public by using the best science, taking responsive public health actions, and
providing trusted health information to prevent harmful exposures and disease
related to toxic substances. ATSDR provides funding and technical assistance to
states and other partners through cooperative agreements and grants to identify
and evaluate environmental health threats to communities. These resources enable
state and local health departments and other grantees to further investigate
environmental health concerns and to educate communities. From fiscal years 1987
through 2003, ATSDR awarded more than $9.2 million-more than $1.8 million in the
last 2 years-in direct funds and services to Minnesota for comprehensive support
of its environmental health unit. In addition to direct funds and services,
ATSDR staff provides technical and administrative guidance for state-conducted
site activities.
ATSDR Site-Specific Activities
Public Health Assessment-Related Activities
One of ATSDR's important mandates is to conduct
public health
assessments of all National Priorities List (NPL) sites and of other
sites where a significant threat to public health might exist.
Forty-five sites have been designated to the NPL in
Minnesota.
A public health assessment is a written, comprehensive
evaluation of available data and information about the release of hazardous
substances into the environment in a specific geographic area. Such releases are
assessed for current or future impact on public health. ATSDR, in collaboration
with public health and environmental officials from Minnesota,
has conducted 66 public health assessments in the state,
including the following recent examples.
Gopher State Ethanol/Minnesota Brewing Company—The
Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), under a cooperative agreement
with ATSDR, evaluated the public health significance of air emissions from a
plant that manufactures ethanol from corn in a densely populated area near
downtown St. Paul. In response to residents' complaints
about odorous and irritating emissions, MDH requested stack testing for
numerous chemicals. Results showed that the plant was emitting many
irritating aldehydes, acids, alcohols, and other chemicals. A thermal
oxidizer and scrubbers have been installed, but complaints continue. In a
public health assessment released in September 2003, MDH recommended that
efforts to characterize and control emissions continue. MDH is advising the
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) on
needed emissions testing and ambient air monitoring.
ValAdCo Confined Livestock Operations—MDH,
under a cooperative agreement with ATSDR and in response to a citizen's
petition to ATSDR, evaluated the public health significance of releases to
air, groundwater, and surface water from seven ValAdCo hog feeding
facilities near Olivia. Air emissions of hydrogen sulfide
from one of the facilities exceeded state air quality and health standards
and pose a public health risk. Health risks from air emissions from the
other facilities were indeterminate because air monitoring was insufficient.
All of these facilities have undergone or are undergoing modifications that
may correct air quality problems.
In a public health assesement released in January 2004, additional
monitoring was recommended to verify compliance with standards. No evidence
was found for exposures to contaminated groundwater. Limited investigation
suggests significant bacterial contamination of surface water near one
facility. More monitoring of groundwater and surface water is recommended.
MDH also noted that many of the problems investigated at this facility
appear to apply to other facilities as well.
A health consultation is a written or oral response from
ATSDR to a specific request for information about health risks related to a
specific site, chemical release, or hazardous material. A health consultation is
a more limited response than a public health assessment is. To date, 142
documented health consultations have been conducted at 97 sites
in Minnesota, including the following recent examples.
Western Mineral Products—The Western
Mineral Products site in Minneapolis was used for
insulation products manufacturing from 1936 to 1989. The plant received
vermiculite ore from Libby, Montana, and processed the ore into insulation,
fireproofing material, and other vermiculite products. The vermiculite ore
from the mine in Libby contained large amounts of naturally occurring
asbestos. Under a cooperative agreement with ATSDR, MDH
conducted a health consultation identifying health concerns related to
asbestos exposure from the site. Workers at the plant were exposed to levels
of asbestos in excess of current occupational standards for much of the time
the plant was in operation, and cases of asbestos-related disease have been
reported in former workers.
Approximately 260 properties around the former plant have been identified as
contaminated with asbestos-containing wastes from the site. EPA has removed
asbestos-contaminated soil from these properties and adjoining alleys. Low
levels of asbestos have been detected in some air samples collected around
the site. The health consultation released in October 2003, concluded that
past exposure to asbestos by workers in the plant, children who played on
the piles of waste materials or vermiculite, and residents who lived near
the site is a public health hazard. Current exposure to residual waste
materials by residents in the area of the site has been addressed by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) removal. MDH is continuing to
investigate people exposed to asbestos from this site.
Crenlo Inc. Plant #2—In October 2001, MDH
was contacted by MPCA about community concerns that a
truck-painting facility in Rochester was emitting large
quantities of chemicals near a day-care facility. Because MDH was concerned
that acute health criteria were being exceeded, MPCA installed an ambient
air monitor. Results did not indicate that volatile organic compounds were
present at levels of immediate concern, but certain chemicals (benzene,
formaldehyde, carbon tetrachloride), probably not emissions from Crenlo,
were detected at levels above long-term health criteria. In response to MDH
recommendations in a March 2003 health consultation, MPCA revised the Crenlo
air permit to further limit emissions. MDH also concluded that caution
should be exercised when siting day-care facilities in an industrial park.
Weston Woods Development Site—Weston Woods is a residential
development near the former Highway 96 Dump near St. Paul.
When the development was proposed, MPCA asked MDH
to review potential public health impacts connected with soil vapor
migration from the dump. In an April 2003 health consultation, MDH concluded
that a gas interceptor trench was not fully preventing methane gas
migration. MDH recommended that frequent methane monitoring needed to be
implemented, and that the trench should be modified to improve its
performance. MDH also recommended methane monitoring for townhomes nearest
the trench, and postponement of development in certain areas near the trench
until the gas migration problems are solved. A plan for long-term
maintenance of control systems in homes also was recommended. These
recommendations have been implemented.
St. Regis Paper Company—A draft health consultation for the
St. Regis Paper Company site in Cass Lake was prepared by
MDH, ATSDR, and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. The
health consultation, released for public comment in August 2003, focused on
health concerns that could arise from exposure to soils at the St. Regis NPL
site. The health consultation is based largely on EPA's October 2001 soil
samples.
The purpose of the health consultation was to assess any current or future
impact on the public's health, develop appropriate health-based
recommendations, and identify further study or action needed to evaluate or
prevent human health effects from soil exposures. Additional health
consultations on other environmental media, including water, sediment, and
fish, are being planned. These additional health consultations will be
released for public comment as they become available.
Health Education and Community Activities
Minnesota has participated in ATSDR's cooperative agreement
program since
1987. Under this program,
MDH
has received funding and technical assistance for the development of community
education and activities associated with human exposure to hazardous substances
in the environment.
Many health education activities for community members and health care
professionals were conducted in relation to asbestos exposures from activities
at the Western Minerals site in northeast
Minneapolis. On a
community level, MDH hosted an educational public meeting featuring information
about exposure pathways and health promotion for exposed people. Health care
professional education was provided through a continuing medical education
program and clinic presentations in the Northeast Minneapolis Community
Vermiculite Investigation health study area.
Residents living near the St. Regis site in
Cass Lake received
joint letters from MDH, ATSDR, and the
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
interpreting soil sample results, a map identifying hazard areas, and advice for
reducing contact with contaminated soil. In conjunction with the August 2003
release of the public comment draft health consultation for this site, MDH
hosted a public meeting to present findings and protective public health
recommendations. A series of smaller meetings to assess and document health
concerns have been held. MDH also met with the local Indian Health Service
clinic staff and with staff at a private clinic to discuss site history, dioxin
toxicity and exposures, and patient concerns. MDH is collaborating with the
University of Minnesota and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe to build
capacity in the community to address problems posed by the presence of the
Superfund site.
Health Studies
Health studies are investigations to determine the relations between
exposures to hazardous substances and adverse health effects. Health studies
also define health problems that require further investigation through, for
example, health surveillance or an epidemiologic study. Following are examples
of health studies or investigations that ATSDR conducted or supported in
Minnesota.
Exposure to Tremolite Asbestos in Vermiculite Ore:
Site-Specific Health Activities—In 2001, MDH, with
funding from ATSDR, initiated a population survey to identify and
characterize asbestos exposure in the area of the Western Mineral Products
site in Minneapolis. The study involves a door-to-door
interview and visual inspection of properties followed by a telephone
interview of former residents and others who may have been exposed to
vermiculite ore from Libby, Montana. The project may involve as many as
6,000 current residents; former residents, workers, and family members; and
self-referred participants. MDH is writing a report on interview results to
prepare for a follow-up health study of the cohort.
Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance System (HSEES)—ATSDR
established HSEES in 1990 to collect and analyze information about releases
of hazardous substances that need to be cleaned up or neutralized according
to federal, state, or local law and about threatened releases that result in
a public health action, such as evacuation. The goal of HSEES is to reduce
the morbidity and mortality of first responders, employees, and the general
public from hazardous substances emergencies. Fifteen state health
departments, including Minnesota, participate in HSEES.
HSEES captures data on more than 8,000 events annually. Of these, 80% occur
at fixed facilities, and 20% are transportation-related events. Most events
occur from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday. Persons most often
injured are employees.
HSEES generates information for use by states to conduct presentations on
planning prevention strategies for industries that account for a substantial
number of spills; conduct hazardous materials (HazMat) training courses,
including information about the risk for injury from methamphetamine labs;
establish and maintain protection areas for municipal water systems; assist
with the proper placement of HazMat teams; develop fact sheets on frequently
spilled chemicals or chemicals that cause a disproportionate number of
injuries (e.g., chlorine and ammonia); develop newsletters for industry,
responders, and environmental groups; and conduct presentations for state
and local emergency planners. A public-use dataset will be available on the
ATSDR HSEES Web site in the future.
Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics
Through a national cooperative agreement with the Association of Occupational
and Environmental Clinics (AOEC), ATSDR supports an occupational and
environmental health program in Minnesota. This support is provided to improve
education and communication related to surveillance, diagnosis, treatment, and
prevention of illness or injury related to exposure to hazardous substances. The
member institution in Minnesota is Occupational and Environmental Medicine,
HealthPartners-Regions Hospital in St. Paul and in Minneapolis.
Resource Materials
ATSDR develops materials for public health professionals and medical care
providers to use to assess the public health impacts of chemical exposures.
These resources are available in print, on the ATSDR Web site, and on CD-ROM.
For example, medical management guidelines are available for acute chemical
exposures to more than 50 chemicals. These guidelines were designed to aid
emergency department physicians and other emergency health care professionals,
such as first responders, who manage acute exposures resulting from chemical
incidents. ATSDR's toxicological profiles comprehensively describe health
effects; pathways of human exposure; and the behavior of more than 250 hazardous
substances in air, soil, and water at hazardous waste sites. The toxicological
profiles are primarily used as a comprehensive resource by health professionals
at all levels. In the last 5 years, more than 3,300 of these profiles have been
sent to requesters, including representatives of federal, state, and local
health and environmental departments; academic institutions; private industries;
and nonprofit organizations in Minnesota. ATSDR has also developed extensive
resources for community members.
March 2004