ATSDR MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT

Bear Creek Residents Should
Continue Drinking, Cooking with Bottled Water, Health Agency Says

Using groundwater for showering, bathing is OK

 

For Immediate Release: August 23, 2005

ATLANTA - People living or working in the Bear Creek Chemical Area Site in Butler and Armstrong Counties, Pa., should continue drinking and cooking with only bottled water, according to a public health assessment released by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).

The ATSDR report states that at current levels, exposure to groundwater contaminants from showering and bathing are not likely to result in adverse health effects. Residents may use groundwater for these and other household uses.

Since mid-2001, community members with contaminated water supplies have received bottled drinking water from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PDEP), the lead agency involved with environmental sampling and investigation at the site. PDEP currently provides bottled water to more than 900 households and businesses.

Regarding past exposure to contaminants in drinking water, ATSDR finds that not enough data exists to determine whether drinking water from area groundwater supplies was a health hazard.

The amounts of surface contaminants at the Bear Creek Chemical Area Site are too low to make people sick, ATSDR concludes.

ATSDR earlier issued the health assessment for public comment. The current report contains comments made to ATSDR and the agency's responses.

The current report also includes results of a review of the Pennsylvania cancer registry for Bear Creek area ZIP codes. ATSDR found no pattern of elevated cancer rates within the Bear Creek Chemical Area Site. ATSDR conducted the cancer data review in response to community member's concerns about cancer.

The Bear Creek Chemical Area Site comprises 26 known or suspected industrial waste disposal areas. From as early as the 1930s until the 1970s, waste was hauled from three nearby industrial facilities to several private properties for disposal. In many cases, the waste was disposed of on land that had been mined for coal. The disposal areas include a landfill, waste lagoons and drum sites.

Groundwater near the site has been affected by several chemicals, including resorcinol-a substance used in tire manufacturing and pharmaceuticals. Also found in the area's groundwater are by-products of mineral oil manufacturing, including several sulfonic acids and calcium petronates.

The public health assessment can be reviewed at:

Community members seeking information about the procedures or the content of the public health assessment may contact Environmental Health Scientist Annmarie DePasquale toll-free at 1-888-422-8737. ATSDR Regional Representative Lora Werner also may be contacted at 215-814-3141. Callers should refer to the Bear Creek site in Pennsylvania.

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 by calling the NCEH/ATSDR Office of Communication at 770-488-0700.