ATSDR in Partnership With Pennsylvania
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 an annual budget for 2003 of approximately $82 million. ATSDR is
responsible for assessing the presence and nature of health hazards at specific
Superfund sites, helping to prevent or reduce further exposure and illnesses
resulting from those hazards, and expanding 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 1986 through 2003, ATSDR awarded more than
$6.8 million—more
than
$660,000 in the last 2 years—in direct funds and services
to
Pennsylvania 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 the agency'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.
One
hundred eighteen sites have been designated to the NPL in
Pennsylvania.
A
public health assessment is a written, comprehensive
evaluation of available data and information on 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
Pennsylvania,
has conducted
160 health assessments in the state, including
the following recent examples.
Bear Creek Chemical Area—The Bear Creek
Chemical Area site in Butler and Armstrong Counties consists of 26 known or
suspected industrial waste disposal areas. Until the 1970s, industrial waste
was hauled from three nearby industrial facilities to several private
properties for disposal.
Drinking water near the Bear Creek Chemical Area site has been impacted by
several contaminants, including resorcinol, sulfonic acids, and calcium
petronates. Limited scientific information is available for the contaminants
of concern. As a result, the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP) has been providing
bottled water for drinking for more than 18 months to approximately 930
homes and businesses; the contaminated drinking water is being used for
showering and other nonpotable uses.
ATSDR became involved with the site in summer 2003 at the request of the
Pennsylvania Department of Health (PADOH). In July
2003, ATSDR representatives conducted a site visit with representatives of
DEP and PADOH. ATSDR is in the process of conducting a public health
assessment for the site. ATSDR also held a public availability sessions at
the Petrolia Fire Hall on July 15, 2003, to discuss the public health
assessment process and gather health concerns from the community. During the
public availability session, ATSDR met one-on-one with approximately 100
community members.
Because no health guidelines have been developed for the chemicals of
concern at this site, ATSDR is conducting a review of the available
scientific literature on health effects associated with exposure to these
chemicals. The results of the toxicologic evaluation will be incorporated
into the public health assessment for the Bear Creek Chemical Area site,
which is expected to be completed by July 2004.
Watson Johnson Landfill—In September 2003, PADOH and ATSDR
released a public comment draft health assessment for the Watson Johnson
Landfill site in Richland Township. PADOH
and ATSDR began work at this community in 2000 at the request of the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). To date, PADOH and ATSDR have
released two health consultations that review private well data for this
site, participated in several community meetings, and gone door-to-door to
talk to residents about their questions and concerns.
The purpose of the health assessment was to evaluate the site's impact on
the community's health from all environmental media, including groundwater,
surface water, soils, and sediments. One conclusion in the health assessment
is that arsenic in groundwater near the landfill is present at levels that,
if ingested over a lifetime, could cause a low to moderate increased risk
for cancer. Another conclusion is that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in
groundwater near the landfill are present at levels that are not expected
harm residents' health; however, continued exposure over a lifetime poses a
low increased cancer risk.
ATSDR and PADOH are planning a meeting in the community in fall 2003 to
accept community comments and answer questions about the agencies' ongoing
activities at the site.
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. It is a more limited response
than a public health assessment is. To date,
265 documented
health consultations have been conducted at
158 sites in
Pennsylvania, including the following recent examples.
Hamburg Lead—EPA asked ATSDR to comment on
the public health implications posed by lead contamination in soil at the
sites that make up the Hamburg Lead site in Hamburg. The
Hamburg Lead site encompasses several properties, including the Berry site,
Hamburg Field House, Hamburg Playground, Ambulance Garage site, Geary Drive
site, and Kaercher Creek site. Soil in residential areas and other
properties throughout the region is contaminated with lead from battery
cases used as fill material, and also from aerial disposition from a former
lead smelter.
ATSDR released health consultations related to various land parcels for the
Hamburg Lead site in 1993, 1995, 2000, and 2003. The most recent of these
consultations involved the Kaercher Creek, Geary Drive, and Ambulance Garage
sites, and were released in January, March, and June 2003, respectively.
The Kaercher Creek health consultation concluded that the lead contamination
in the creek soil and sediment is likely to have an adverse impact on human
health, especially for developing fetuses and children up to 6 years old.
ATSDR classified this site as a public health hazard that requires public
health intervention. ATSDR's public health action plan for the site includes
blood lead screening for area residents (in coordination with PADOH)
and health education activities for residents and county health
professionals.
The Geary Drive and Ambulance Garage consultations evaluated potential
exposure for trespassers from incidental soil ingestion. Although the site
is bordered by residential areas, the likelihood of exposure is limited
because the site is along a creek bank and is mostly covered by grass.
Further, no recreational activities occur on the site, and pedestrian foot
traffic is infrequent. ATSDR concludes that although lead levels are above
background in surface soil at the site, exposure is not expected to occur at
levels of health concern. ATSDR classified both the Geary Drive and
Ambulance Garage sites as no apparent public health hazard for this exposure
scenario.
Tranguch Gasoline Spill—In 1993, DEP
responded to the gasoline spill associated with a leaking underground
storage tank at the Tranguch Gasoline Site in Hazleton. In
the early 1990s, DEP sampled homes and installed vapor recovery systems. At
DEP's request, in 1996 EPA began sampling and remediating homes affected by
the gasoline spill as well as defining the extent of groundwater
contamination. Former coal mines and sewer main breaks in the area of the
groundwater contamination are believed to have served as a pathway of
exposure to residents living beyond the immediate area of the groundwater
plume. Public health agencies have been involved with the site, at EPA's
request, since May 2000.
In 2001, ATSDR prepared a health consultation on the safety of action levels
for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX) chemicals found in
homes impacted by the site. In spring 2001, ATSDR and PADOH
conducted door-to-door visits to more than 80 homes to answer health
questions and provide information on health issues related to the site. Both
agencies also jointly conducted an educational program for physicians and
other local health care professionals serving the Hazleton area, as well as
a program on community stress issues. During winter 2001, ATSDR collaborated
with PADOH to individually review all of the environmental sampling data
available for all 368 homes and businesses in the site area; all of the
property owners received individual letters stating the lack of public heath
threat under current postremediation conditions.
The University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health was
contracted by local officials to study the possibility of heath effects in
the affected community. In October 2003, the university released its final
reports for the community. PADOH has also been reviewing the cancer
statistics for the area. The primary public health issue of concern is the
possibility that leukemia rates are elevated in this community. ATSDR will
review the cancer data and the university's final reports and make any
necessary follow-up recommendations for this community. ATSDR formed an
internal workgroup that is now reviewing the final summary report.
Health Education and Community Activities
Pennsylvania has been a participant in ATSDR's cooperative
agreement program since
1987. Under this program,
PADOH
has received funding and technical assistance for the development of community
education and activities associated with human exposure to hazardous substances
in the environment.
Hamburg Lead—Because of the widespread
nature of the contamination at this site, PADOH and ATSDR
are leading a comprehensive health education effort to inform health care
providers and community residents in the area about the health effects of
lead and about resources to prevent or reduce lead exposure. A special focus
of these activities is on promoting childhood lead prevention and
surveillance. ATSDR is providing technical assistance to PADOH that includes
the review and development of health educational materials and the
coordination and distribution of hundreds of information packets for
physicians.
PADOH and ATSDR activities conducted in relation to the Hamburg Lead site
include
1. Developing and distributing a fact sheet on the health effects of lead
exposure and the importance of lead screening.
2. Conducting physician visits to increase their awareness of lead issues
related to the Hamburg Lead site and to inform them of future health
education and blood lead screening activities.
3. Offering blood lead screenings to children 6 months through 6 years old
at the 2003 Hamburg Community Days and the Hamburg Borough Center.
4. Conducting an environmental health grand rounds presentation for the
local medical community in October 2003 at Reading Hospital.
Health Studies
Health studies are conducted to determine the relationship
between exposure to hazardous substances and adverse health effects. They also
define health problems that require further investigation through, for example,
a health surveillance or epidemiologic study. Following are examples of health
studies or investigations that ATSDR conducted or supported in
Pennsylvania.
Medical Records Review—In September 2003,
the University of Pennsylvania released its ATSDR-funded
"Medical Records Review of a Group of Residents Near the Precision National
Plating Services Site." Physicians at the university solicited and reviewed
medical records provided by medical professionals for both current and
former occupants of the nine residences closest to the former chrome-plating
facility in a rural area near the town of Clarks Summit.
The purpose of this review was to address lingering community concerns about
illnesses in the community and a possible relationship of these illnesses to
contamination from the facility. The study concluded that the medical
conditions recorded among the current or former residents in the study did
not appear to be related to contaminants from the site.
Multistate Case-Control Study of Childhood Brain Cancers—The
role of environmental chemicals in childhood brain cancer etiology is not
clearly understood. Because brain cancer in children has become a major
concern in communities near hazardous waste sites, ATSDR conducted this
population-based case-control study to examine the association between the
risk of childhood brain cancer and living near the NPL sites. Cases
diagnosed at less than 10 years of age during 1993-1997 with first primary
cancer of the brain, excluding lymphomas, in Florida, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, and New York (excluding New York City) were identified from
the statewide cancer registries. Controls were selected by random-digit
dialing by individually matching to cases on race, birth year (within 1
year), and state of residence at the time of diagnosis.
Five hundred twenty-six case-control sets were included in the first phase
of the study. Computer-assisted telephone interviews were conduced with the
biological mothers to collect the residential history and other exposure
information. The exposure periods included 2 years prior to the child's
birth for parents and from birth to 1 year before the year of diagnosis.
In the second phase of the study, the relationship between the childhood
brain cancer risk and mother's blood levels of persistent organic pollutants
was examined. Blood specimens were collected from the 147 mothers of the
case and control children who were diagnosed at less than 5 years of age
(reference age for controls) during the most recent 2 years. The data
analysis was focused on the 10 analytes that had a concentration level above
the detection limit in at least 60% of the participating mothers. The draft
final report has been completed, and is in the process of an external peer
review.
National Exposure Registry: Trichloroethylene (TCE)
Subregistry-The National Exposure Registry (NER) comprises
chemical-specific subregistries to aid in assessing the long-term health
consequences of low-level, long-term exposures to hazardous chemicals at
hazardous waste sites. TCE, a synthetic chemical not occurring naturally in
the environment, was the first chemical subregistry of the NER. The
Pennsylvania site included in the TCE subregistry is
Crossley Farm/Hereford Township in Berks County. Health outcome
rates for the TCE Subregistry are being compared with national rates.
Significantly excessive health effects reported by the TCE Subregistry
members include speech impairment; hearing impairment; anemia and other
blood disorders; effects of stroke; urinary tract disorders; liver problems;
kidney problems; diabetes; and skin rashes, eczema, or other skin allergies.
November 2003