ATSDR - Public health assessment of the Edwards Air Force Base NPL site

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

Search | Index | Home | Glossary | Contact Us

ATSDR MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT
ATSDR releases final version of its public health assessment
of the Edwards Air Force Base NPL site

For Immediate Release: May 13, 2003

ATLANTA - The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, today issued the final version of its public health assessment (PHA) of the Edwards Air Force Base NPL site in Southern California.

An NPL site is one that is on the National Priorities List. ATSDR is mandated by law to conduct a PHA on all proposed NPL sites.

The public health assessment evaluates whether past, current or future practices at Edwards Air Force Base could cause harm to people who live or work on base, or to nearby community members. In this PHA, ATSDR evaluated the public health impact of chemical releases from activities at the Edwards Air Force Base site. ATSDR reviewed available environmental data, exposure scenarios and community health concerns to determine whether chemical exposure associated with the site can lead to adverse health effects. The final version of the PHA includes comments from the community and other interested parties along with ATSDR's responses.

Conclusions
On the basis of available information, ATSDR has come to the following conclusions about the Edwards Air Force Base site:

No adverse health effects are expected from past exposure to arsenic in the on-base water supply system. Other on-base and off-base drinking water wells are routinely monitored and meet standards for drinking water quality. The base monitors active on-base wells and boundary-line wells to prevent current and future exposure to groundwater contamination.
On-base residents were not exposed to chemical warfare materiel in subsurface soil.
No health hazard exists to on-base workers or residents from aerial dioxin releases from the dual extraction remediation systems at sites 16 and 18.

Recommendations
ATSDR has made the following recommendations about the site:

As needed, ATSDR will evaluate the potential for public health hazards as new information becomes available that might indicate the possibility of harmful exposures to hazardous substances. ATSDR also will re-evaluate the potential for public health hazards if changes occur in proposed land use, remedial activities or risk management actions that might lead to future exposures.
The California Department of Health Services and the Kern County Health Department should keep residents informed of any updated conclusions or efforts related to the Rosamond cancer cluster investigations.
The California Department of Toxic Substances Control and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers should coordinate appropriate response to community concerns about the potential presence of unexploded ordnance in the former Mojave C Bombing Range.

Located approximately 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles, Edwards Air Force Base occupies 470 square miles in Los Angeles, Kern and San Bernardino counties. Since the base was established in 1933, the site has been used to conduct aircraft research, including development and testing of airplanes, rockets and rocket fuels. Past practices have resulted in chemical contamination in groundwater, landfills and soils on base.

Community members seeking information on the procedures or the content of the public health consultation may contact Toxicologist Scott Sudweeks, or Community Involvement Specialist Dawn O'Connor, toll free, at 1-888-422-8737. Regional Representative William Nelson also may be contacted at 415-947-4316. When calling, please refer to the Edwards Air Force Base site in Southern California.

Members of the news media may request an interview with ATSDR staff by calling Elaine McEachern in the ATSDR Office of Policy and External Affairs at 770-488-0700.

Back to Media Center

Back to ATSDR Home page

This page updated May 13, 2003
For more information, contact ATSDR at:
770-488-0700 or e-mail (news media)