REYNOLDS METALS COMPANY
TROUTDALE, MULTNOMAH COUNTY, OREGON
CONCLUSIONS
Surface soils and sediments on the Reynolds Metals site have become contaminated with aluminum, fluoride, and PAHs. Additional contaminants include PCBs, mercury, and arsenic. Shallow groundwater in the area has been affected by this contamination, and deeper groundwater has also become affected, although to a lesser degree.
Site contamination may have also migrated into the nearby Columbia and Sandy rivers. Some of the site contaminants have the potential to concentrate in fish tissues. These contaminants are PCBs, mercury, and, to a much lesser extent, fluoride and PAHs. However, because most of the fish in the Columbia River are migratory, the effects of this site would not be significant. On the other hand, there are several other sources for these contaminants along the Columbia River, which can increase the amount of total contamination fish may absorb.
One area to the north of the industrial facility borders the Columbia and Sandy rivers and is accessible to people who land their boats on the shoreline or who hike into the area from the facility parking lot. This area contains a landfill and Company Lake, which receives wastewater and discharges it into the Columbia River. No adverse health effects are expected to occur to recreational users who enter the area once a month or less. However, should a child visit this area and wade in Company Lake or its outfall ditch more frequently, he or she could experience adverse health effects in the form of tooth mottling, increased dental caries, and skeletal fluorosis.
Blackberries grow in the area near Company Lake, and some people have harvested these berries in the past. Although there is no information about how well blackberries may concentrate the site contaminants in the fruit, there is evidence that the plants could absorb PAHs and fluoride(7).
Workers at the Reynolds site are exposed to contaminated soils, sediments, and groundwater. Fluoride is the only site contaminant which may cause adverse health effects to workers. Fluoride levels can result in an increase in the incidence of dental caries and skeletal fluorosis. In addition, there is recent evidence of PCB contamination at the site.
Because of the possibility that on-site workers could experience adverse health effects from exposure to fluoride, ATSDR has concluded that the Reynolds Metals site is a public health hazard.
Health Activities Recommendation Panel Recommendations
The Health Activities Recommendations Panel (HARP) is an ATSDR agency-wide panel whose members evaluate hazardous waste sites and determine the appropriate activities necessary to protect the public health. HARP evaluated the Reynolds Metals site and determined that ATSDR representatives should work to inform community members about the need for access restrictions.
The public health action plan (PHAP) for the Reynolds Metals Company site in Troutdale, Oregon, contains a description of actions ATSDR representatives will take at and near the site. The PHAP is designed to ensure that this public health assessment not only identifies public health hazards but also provides an action plan for mitigation and prevention of adverse human health effects resulting from exposure to hazardous substances in the environment.
Actions Planned
Preparers of Report:
Robert B. Knowles
Environmental Health Specialist
Superfund Site Assessment Branch
Division of Health Assessment and Consultation
ATSDR Regional Representative:
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Toxicological Profile for Aluminum. Atlanta: US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, 1992.
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Toxicological Profile for Fluorides, Hydrogen Fluoride, and Fluorine. Atlanta: US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, 1993a.
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Toxicological Profile for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). Atlanta: US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, 1993b.
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Toxicological Profile for Selected PCBs (Aroclor -1260, 1254, 1248, 1242, 1232, 1221, and 1016). Atlanta: US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, 1993c.
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Toxicological Profile for Arsenic. Atlanta: US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, 1993d.
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Toxicological Profile for Mercury. Atlanta: US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, 1994.
Census of Population and Housing, 1990: Summary Tape File 1A (Oregon) [machine-readable data files]. Prepared by the Bureau of the Census. Washington, DC: The Bureau [producer and distributor], 1991.
CH2M Hill. Reynolds Metals Company, Troutdale Facility, Operable Unit 1, Removal Site Assessment. October 28, 1994.
Hazardous Substances Data Bank [computer database]. National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD, 1996.
Lower Columbia River Bi-State Program. Reconnaissance Survey of the Lower Columbia River, Task 6: Reconnaissance Report. Prepared by Tetra-Tech. May 17, 1993.
Lower Columbia River Bi-State Water Program. Backwater Reconnaissance Survey. Prepared by Tetra-Tech. May 26, 1994.
Lower Columbia River Bi-State Program. Assessing Human Health Risks from Chemically Contaminated Fish in the Lower Columbia River. Prepared by Tetra Tech. May 30, 1995.
PRC Environmental Management, Inc. Final Site Inspection Prioritization, Reynolds Metals Company, Troutdale, Oregon. October 19, 1993.
Reynolds Metals Co. v Yturbide, 258 F2d 321, (9th Cir) cert. den. 358 US 840 (1958).
