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1. ATSDR > Public Health Assessments & Consultations

PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT

LITCHFIELD AIRPORT AREA
(a/k/a PHOENIX GOODYEAR AIRPORT)
GOODYEAR, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA
EPA FACILITY ID: AZD980695902

December 18, 2000

Prepared by:

Arizona Department of Health Services
Office of Environmental Health
Under Cooperative Agreement with the
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

GLOSSARY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.0 BACKGROUND

1.1 Site Description and History
1.2 Site Visit
1.3 Demographics
1.4 Land Use and Natural Resources
1.5 Health Outcome Data
1.5.1 Mortality and Incidence Studies for Maricopa County
  Report on Mortality in Maricopa County: 1966 to 1986
  Incidence Study of Childhood Cancer in Maricopa County: 1965 to 1986
  Follow-up of Childhood Leukemia Incidence Rates in Maricopa County: 1987 to 1990

2.0 COMMUNITY CONCERNS

2.1 Survey for Community and Former Unidynamics Workers Concerns

2.1.1 Survey Design and Process
2.1.2 Survey Results
2.1.2.1 Results of Health Survey Component for Community Residents
2.1.2.2 Results of Health Survey Component for Former Workers
2.1.2.3 Results of Health Survey for Both Groups

3.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION AND OTHER HAZARDS

3.1 On-site Contamination
3.1.1 On-site Soil Contamination
3.1.2 On-site Groundwater Contamination
3.1.3 Past On-site Thermal Oxidizer Emissions


3.2 Off-site Contamination
3.2.1 Off-Site Groundwater Contamination
  Globe and SunCor Private Wells
  Park Shadows Apartments Private Wells

4.0 EXPOSURE PATHWAY ANALYSIS

4.1 Incomplete Exposure Pathways
On-site Soil and Groundwater Contamination
Thermal Oxidizer Emissions
Off-site Groundwater
4.2 Complete Past, Current, and Future Exposure Pathways
Past Occupational Exposure Pathways
Past Air Emissions Exposure Pathways
Current and Future Exposure Pathways

5.0 PUBLIC HEALTH IMPLICATIONS

5.1 Toxicologic Evaluation
5.1.1 Health-based Guidance Levels
5.1.1.1 Health-based Guidance Levels for Past On-site Thermal Oxidizer Emissions
5.1.1.2 Health-based Guidance Levels for the Contaminated Water in the Small Irrigation Canals
5.1.1.3 Ingestion Exposures to Eating Edible Plants Irrigated with Contaminated Groundwater
5.1.2 Limitations of Toxicological Data
5.2 Health Outcome Data Evaluation
5.2.1 Evaluation of Arizona Department of Health Services Health Studies
5.2.2 SunCor Housing Risk Assessment
5.3 Health Concerns Evaluation
5.3.1 Community Residents Concerns
5.3.1.1 Community Drinking Water Concerns
5.3.1.2 Community Concerns Related to Air Pollution
    IMSAMET Aluminum Smelter
    Dust and Particulate Matter
    Pesticides in the Goodyear Area
5.3.2 Former Unidynamics Workers Concerns
5.4 ATSDR's Child Health Initiative

6.0 CONCLUSIONS

7.0 RECOMMENDATIONS

8.0 PUBLIC HEALTH ACTION PLAN

PREPARERS OF REPORT

CERTIFICATION

REFERENCES

APPENDIX

1. Map showing location of the Phoenix Goodyear Airport North (PGA) site.
2. Map showing the location of the Unidynamics plant and contaminated groundwater plume.
3. Photographs of the PGA North site.
4. Exposure history forms.
5. Graph showing the different sources of dioxins and furans.
6. Toxicological Profile for Trichloroethylene.
7. Summary of target analytes in Globe and SunCor wells.
8. Calculations for exposure doses.
9. Definition of ATSDR Hazard Categories
10. Public Comments and Responses on Draft Public Health Assessment

TABLES

Table 1. On-site Soil Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) Concentrations and Comparison to Soil Remediation Levels (SRLs).
Table 2. Highest 1989 On-site Soil Concentrations of Metals and Their Comparison to Soil Remediation Levels (SRLs).
Table 3. Current On-site Trichloroethylene (TCE) and Perchlorate Concentrations in the Two Groundwater Subunits Compared to Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs).
Table 4. TCE and Perchlorate Concentrations in Private Off-site Irrigation and Domestic Wells at the PGA North site.
Table 5. TCE Concentrations in the Private Wells at Park Shadows Apartments
Table 6. Complete and Potential Future Exposure Pathways for the PGA North Site
Table 7. Estimated Outdoor Air Concentrations of TCE from 1996 to 1998 from the Thermal Oxidizer Emissions and Comparison to Health-based Guidance Levels (HBGLs).
Table 8. Comparison of TCE Concentrations in the Globe #2 Irrigation Well to the Health-based Guidance Levels (HBGLs).

LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

GLOSSARY

aquifer

a permeable rock stratum below the earth's surface through which groundwater moves; generally capable of producing water for a well.

chemicals of concern

chemicals whose concentrations are above the appropriate screening level.

clean

this word is used to describe water quality. This indicates that the water quality in question is in compliance with federal water quality standards developed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

detection limit

the minimum concentrations that must be accurately and precisely measured by the laboratory and/or specified in the quality assurance plan.

dose

the amount of contamination absorbed or deposited in the body of an exposed organism for an increment of time. A total dose is the sum of doses received by a person from a contaminant in a given interval resulting from interaction with all environmental media that contain the contaminant. Units of dose and total dose are often converted to units of mass per volume of physiological fluid or mass of tissue.

exposure

an event that occurs when there is contact at a boundary between a human being and the environment with a contaminant for a specific concentration for an interval of time: the units of exposure are concentration multiplied by time.

exposure pathway

the process by which an individual is exposed to contaminants that originate from some source of contamination and are categorized as inhalation, dermal, and/or ingestion exposures.

gene mutation

a persistent change in a single gene.

latency

the period between stimulus application and response onset.

maximum contaminant levels

enforceable drinking water standards that are protective of public health to the extent feasible with current technology.

minimal risk level

an estimate of daily exposure of a human being to a chemical (in mg/kg/day) that is likely to be without an appreciable risk of adverse noncancerous effects over a specified duration of exposure.

particulate

small, discrete, solid or liquid bodies, especially those suspended in a liquid or gaseous medium.

parts per million

one part per million (ppm) equals 1 pound chemical per million pounds of water.

public health assessment

an evaluation of relevant environmental data, health outcome data, and community concerns associated with a site where hazardous substances have been released.

quality assurance

a planned system of activities whose purpose is to provide assurance of the reliability and defensibility of the data.

quality control

a routine application of procedures for controlling the monitoring process. QC is the responsibility of all those performing hands-on operations in the filed and in the laboratory.

route of exposure

means by which the contaminant actually enters or contacts the body, such as ingestion, inhalation, dermal contact, and dermal absorption.

soil remediation levels (SRLs)

health-based soil screening levels. SRLs protect against toxic doses of systemic toxicants and limit excess lifetime cancer risk to one-in-one-million.

volatile compounds

compounds amenable to analysis by the purge and trap techniques, also referred to as purgable compounds.

volatilization

the conversion of a liquid or solid into vapors.

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