ATSDR - Naval Air Station Fallon Substances in Churchill County, Nev.

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ATSDR MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT
ATSDR Finds No Public Health Hazard from Exposure to Naval Air Station Fallon Substances in Churchill County, Nev.

For Immediate Release: July 25, 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 is issuing the final public health assessment (PHA) for Naval Air Station Fallon (NASF) in Fallon in Churchill County, Nev.

The PHA is part of a public health action plan developed by ATSDR and the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) to evaluate whether environmental exposures are associated with the childhood leukemia cluster identified in Churchill County by the Nevada State Health Division of the Nevada Department of Human Resources.

The PHA evaluates possible exposure to chemicals released into the environment from NASF operations.

After evaluating environmental data and toxicological and medical information, ATSDR concludes there are no past, current or future public health hazards from exposures to NAS-related substances in the environment.

The exposure media analyzed in the PHA include groundwater, surface water and sediment, soil, air related to stationary sources, and air related to jet fuel and emission byproducts.

ATSDR recommends the following actions:

NASF should continue to conduct annual testing of the monitoring wells near the groundwater plumes on the east and south boundaries of the base to ensure that contaminants are not migrating off site. If any site-related contaminants are detected off site to the east and south, NASF should test any private wells in the vicinity that are used for drinking water.
NASF should continue to sample drainage canals where the canals leave the base and to analyze for petroleum and jet fuel chemicals, such as benzene, toluene and xylene, to ensure that these fuel components are not migrating off base.

The document is available for review at the following repository:

Churchill County Library
553 S. Maine St.
Fallon, Nev.

Community members seeking information on the procedures or the content of the public health assessment may contact Environmental Health Scientist Jeff Kellam or Health Communications Specialist Rose Jackson toll free at 1-888-422-8737. Regional Representative Libby Levy also may be contacted at 415-947-4319. When calling, please refer to the NAS Fallon site in Fallon, Nev.

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

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Updated by R. Searfoss July 24, 2003
For more information, contact ATSDR at:
770-488-0700 or e-mail (news media)