ATSDR MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT

ATSDR Releases Findings for Coeur d'Alene River Basin Site

Bunker Hill Mining and Metallurgical Complex Operable Unit 3 (a.k.a. Coeur d’Alene River Basin site), Kootenai and Shoshone Counties, Idaho

Note to Correspondents: ATSDR representatives will be available to talk with reporters from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 16th at the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality,
2110 Ironwood Parkway in Coeur d'Alene.

For Immediate Release: December 16, 2004

ATLANTA - A public health assessment evaluating the possible public health impacts of lead and other metals from the Bunker Hill Mining and Metallurgical Site Operable Unit 3, also known as the Coeur d'Alene River Basin, will be released by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) on Dec. 17, 2004. The assessment will be available for public comment and review through Feb. 15, 2005.

The assessment details work previously completed at the site and includes agency findings and recommendations for clean-up and lead poisoning prevention. The document can serve as a resource for the public and the Basin Commission during implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Record of Decision and during its five-year review. On the basis of an evaluation of available site information and sampling data, general findings conclude that:

— A public health hazard exists for some residents living in the area, primarily east of Lake Coeur d'Alene.
— Visitors to the Coeur d'Alene River Basin should not be at risk because long-term exposures to site-related contaminants are not anticipated.
— Visitors to the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes should follow the recommended precautions. Leaving the paved portions of the Trail may increase a person's exposure to metals, thus increasing the risk of adverse health effects, particularly for those already exposed to lead and other contaminants in their daily living environment.
— People who do not comply with the fish-consumption advisory issued by the state of Idaho may experience adverse health effects. The current fish-consumption advisory issued by the state of Idaho recommends specific actions that people should take to limit their consumption of particular fish.
— Recreation and occasional short-term exposures to metals in contaminated water along the Spokane River represent no apparent public health hazard.
— Exposure to ambient air near smelter operations posed a public health hazard in the past because of elevated levels of particulate matter and sulfur dioxide. EPA reports the site is currently in compliance with air standards.

The Coeur d'Alene River Basin site was added to the EPA National Priorities List in 1983. It includes the River Basin extending from the Idaho/Montana border westward to the Spokane arm of Lake Roosevelt in Washington. The site covers 3,700 square miles and includes areas in Kootenai and Shoshone counties in northern Idaho. It does not include the 21-square-mile Bunker Hill Superfund area known as the "Box."

Metals released during mining and smelting operations contaminated the environment within the site. The contaminant of greatest concern at the site is lead. ATSDR has identified seven other chemicals of potential concern within the site including aluminum, antimony, arsenic, cadmium, iron, manganese, and zinc.

The public comment period is an opportunity for residents to review and comment on agency findings or proposed activities noted in the assessment. The assessment can be viewed at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/PHA/region_10.html#idaho, and will be available for public comment and review through Feb. 15, 2005, at

North Idaho College Library
1000 Garden Ave
Coeur d'Alene, ID 82814

St. Maries Public Library
822 W. College Ave
St. Maries, ID

Wallace Public Library
415 River St.
Wallace, ID 83873

Spokane Public Library
906 West Main Ave.
Spokane, WA 99201-0976

EPA Coeur d'Alene Field Office
1910 Northwest Blvd. Suite 208
Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814

EPA Seattle Office, Superfund Record Center
1200 Sixth Ave.
Seattle, WA 98101

Please send requests for copies of the public health assessment and comments concerning the document to:
Chief, Records Management Activity, ATSDR
1600 Clifton Road, N.E. (MS E-60)
Atlanta, GA 30333

Comments received during the public comment period will be logged in to the ATSDR administrative record for this public health assessment. Comments received, without the names of individuals who submitted them, and ATSDR responses to the comments will appear in an appendix to the final public health assessment. Names of those who submit comments, however, will be subject to release for requests made under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.

For more information, community members may contact Health Communications Specialist Rose Jackson or Deputy Branch Chief Sven Rodenbeck, toll-free, at 1-888-422-8737. ATSDR Senior Regional Representative Richard Kauffman also may be contacted at 206-553-2632.

ATSDR, a federal public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, evaluates the human health effects of exposure to hazardous substances.

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Members of the news media can request an interview with ATSDR staff by calling the ATSDR Office of Communication at 770-488-0700.