ATSDR MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT

ATSDR Releases Final Public Health Consultation for
River Terrace Community in Washington, DC

For Immediate Release: November 29, 2007

ATLANTA - The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has released a recent report confirming the agency’s previous conclusion regarding the River Terrace Community, in Washington DC.

According to the document, called a Public Health Consultation, pre-existing respiratory conditions/diseases could be aggravated when the maximum levels of particulate matter in outdoor air are considered to be high.

During its evaluation, ATSDR studied limited ambient air monitoring data in the River Terrace community and other areas near the Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO) Benning Road plant; in addition, the agency reviewed sulfur dioxide and particulate matter data for River Terrace from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ATSDR determined the levels of metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are not expected to be harmful to residents.

Information was not available for ATSDR to assess the impact of sulfur dioxide exposures of less than an hour.  Also, ATSDR could not reach a conclusion about potential formaldehyde exposures because available data were unsuitable for health evaluation purposes.

The public health consultation can be viewed at:

Benning Branch Library
3935 Benning Road, NE
Washington, DC 20019

Capital View Branch Library
5001 Central Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20019

Deanwood Kiosk
4215 Nannie H. Burroughs Ave, NE
Washington, DC 20019

To request a copy of the public health consultation or for more information, community members may contact ATSDR staff Environmental Health Scientist Danielle Langmann or Community Involvement Specialist Loretta Asbury, toll-free, at 1-888-422-8737. ATSDR Regional Representative Lora Werner may also be contacted in Philadelphia at 215-814-3141. Callers should refer to the River Terrace community in Washington, D.C.

For more information on the health effects of outdoor air quality, visit the National Center for Environmental Health air quality Web page at http://www.cdc.gov/health/airquality.html or http://airnow.gov/.

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. The agency also determines how hazardous a site is and recommends actions that need to be taken to safeguard people's health. Established by Congress in 1980 under the Superfund law, ATSDR conducts public health assessments and consultations at each of the sites on the EPA National Priorities List, as well as other sites when petitioned.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, ATSDR is staffed by health professionals including environmental health scientists, epidemiologists, physicians, toxicologists, engineers and public health educators.

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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.