ATSDR in Partnership With the Virgin Islands
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is the lead
public health agency responsible for implementing the health-related provisions
of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of
1980 (CERCLA). ATSDR is an Atlanta-based federal agency with more than 400
employees and a budget for 2004 of approximately $73 million. ATSDR assesses the
presence and nature of health hazards at specific Superfund sites, helps to
prevent or reduce further exposure and illnesses resulting from those hazards,
and expands the knowledge base about the health effects of exposure to hazardous
substances.
ATSDR Site-Specific Activities
Public Health Assessment-Related Activities
One of ATSDR's important mandates is to conduct
public health
assessments of all National Priorities List (NPL) sites and of other
sites where a significant threat to public health might exist. A public health
assessment is a written, comprehensive evaluation of available data and
information about the release of hazardous substances into the environment in a
specific geographic area. Such releases are assessed for past, current, or
future impact on public health. ATSDR, in collaboration with public health and
environmental officials from the
Virgin Islands, has conducted
public health assessments at
three sites in the territory:
Bovoni Dump, St. Thomas, St. Thomas (final document
released 1/9/1998)
Island Chemical Corporation, Christiansted, St. Croix (final document
released 5/19/1998)
Tutu Wellfield, St. Thomas, St. Thomas (final document released 5/14/1996).
A
health consultation is a written or oral response from ATSDR
to a specific request for information about health risks related to a specific
site, chemical release, or hazardous material. A health consultation is a more
limited response than a public health assessment. In the
Virgin Islands,
seven health consultations have been conducted at
six
sites in the Virgin Islands:
Anguilla Landfill/DPW, Christiansted, St. Croix (final
document released 11/8/1999)
Bovoni Dump, St. Thomas, St. Thomas (final document released 12/23/1999)
Island Chemical Corporation/Virgin Island Chemical Company, Christiansted,
St. Croix (final documents released 5/25/1989 and 7/6/1989)
Monroe and Sibilly Elementary School, St. Thomas, St. Thomas (final document
released 5/01/2000)
Susannaberg Landfill, St. John, St. John (final document released 5/15/1992)
Virgin Islands (nonsite-specific) (final document released 7/12/1990).
Following is an example of a health consultation conducted by ATSDR in the
Virgin Islands.
Monroe and Sibilly Elementary School—Congressional
Delegate Donna M. Christensen (D-VI) asked ATSDR to evaluate drinking water
cisterns contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the
Monroe and Sibilly Elementary School, St. Thomas. ATSDR was asked
to determine (1) whether the contamination found in the cisterns could be
responsible for upset stomachs and rashes in students at the school, and (2)
whether the contamination in the water came from the Tutu Wellfield site.
ATSDR conducted a health consultation that addressed Delegate Christensen's
request. In the health consultation, ATSDR concluded that the concentrations
of VOCs or total trihalomethanes detected in the cisterns would not cause
upset stomachs or rashes.
The health consultation released in May 2000 explains how ATSDR determined
that the contaminated water found in the drinking water cisterns at the
school did not come from the Tutu Wellfield site. To ensure that the
drinking water at the school does not contain any contamination at levels of
concern in the future, ATSDR recommended that authorities in the Virgin
Islands conduct regular monitoring of the school's drinking water supply in
accordance with the Virgin Islands Territorial Safe Drinking Water Act.
In August 2004, at Delegate Christensen's request, ATSDR met with residents in
St. Croix and St. Thomas. At the St. Croix meeting, residents reported health
concerns they have about the nearby Hovensa petrochemical plant and the former
St. Croix Alumina Plant. At this time, no specific ATSDR activities are planned
for St. Croix; however, Delegate Christensen expects some follow-up from the
agency's Office of Environmental Justice with the
Virgin Islands
Department of Health, the community health center, and members of the
community. At the St. Thomas meeting, residents voiced their health concerns
about the nearby Bovoni landfill. ATSDR plans to return to St. Thomas to
participate in community health education seminars offered by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency. ATSDR has also started discussions with the
health department for potentially educating local physicians and nurses in the
environmental arena (e.g., information on taking an exposure history and on
contaminants at the Bovoni site). In addition, ATSDR staff will evaluate the
public health significance of any air data that become available for areas
surrounding the Bovoni landfill.
Health Education and Community Activities
As part of its ongoing outreach activities in affected communities, ATSDR
proactively involves communities in identifying their health concerns and
developing actions to address them. Through a national cooperative agreement
with the Migrant Clinicians Network, ATSDR provides assistance to health care
providers working with migrant and seasonal farm workers. The Migrant Clinicians
Network, the second largest clinical network in the United States, brings
together clinicians from various professions to meet the needs of migrant and
seasonal farm workers. Nine health care organizations in the
Virgin
Islands are members of the Migrant Clinicians Network.
Resource Materials
ATSDR develops materials for public health professionals and medical care
providers to use to assess the public health impacts of chemical exposures.
These resources are available in print, on the ATSDR Web site, and on CD-ROM.
For example, medical management guidelines are available for acute chemical
exposures to more than 50 chemicals. These guidelines were designed to aid
emergency department physicians and other emergency health care professionals,
such as first responders, who manage acute exposures resulting from chemical
incidents. ATSDR's toxicological profiles comprehensively describe health
effects; pathways of human exposure; and the behavior of more than 250 hazardous
substances in air, soil, and water at hazardous waste sites. Health
professionals at all levels use the toxicological profiles primarily as
comprehensive resources. These profiles have been sent to requesters, including
representatives of federal, state, and local health and environmental
departments; academic institutions; private industries; and nonprofit
organizations in the
Virgin Islands. ATSDR also has developed
extensive resources for community members.
July 2004