ATSDR MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT

ATSDR Public Health Consultation Finds Asbestos Exposure
No Longer a Hazard for Students and Staff at Oak Ridge High School

Public may comment on the report through June 20

For Immediate Release: May 6, 2005

ATLANTA - Students and staff at Oak Ridge High School in El Dorado Hills, Calif., currently are not being exposed to dangerous levels of asbestos at the school, according to a report released today by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).

The report, called a public health consultation, says clean-up activities by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the school district have reduced the possibility of exposure to naturally occurring amphibole asbestos.

The report, being presented at a community meeting in El Dorado Hills this evening, also says possible past exposure of some students and staff at Oak Ridge High School to asbestos fibers was a health hazard.

Classifying the school as a past public health hazard does not mean that people exposed in the past will develop asbestos-related disease. It means that potential exposures were high enough to increase risk and that clean-up activities to prevent further exposures were necessary.

ATSDR, a federal public health agency, says the greatest exposures likely were experienced by coaches who spent considerable time on athletic fields and tracks, outdoor maintenance staff and student athletes.

ATSDR recommends that because some increased risk of developing asbestos-related disease is possible, people in those most highly exposed groups should inform their physicians about their potential asbestos exposure so that their physicians can offer appropriate preventive care and watch for early signs of disease.

Among ATSDR's recommendations

The ATSDR health consultation is available for public review and comment. The comment period runs through June 20, 2005.

The public health consultation can be viewed at

Oak Ridge High School Library
1120 Harvard Way
El Dorado Hills, Calif.

El Dorado County Main Library
345 Fair Lane
Placerville, Calif.

El Dorado County Public Health Department
931 Spring Street
Placerville, Calif.

El Dorado Hills Community Services District
1021 Harvard Way
El Dorado Hills, Calif.

Comments on the public health consultation must be made in writing. Mail comments to

Comments received during the public comment period will be logged in to ATSDR's administrative record for the health consultation. Comments received, without the names of individuals who submitted them, and ATSDR's responses to the comments will appear in an appendix to the final public health consultation. Names of those who submit comments, however, will be subject to release to requests made under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.

For more information, community members can contact Community Involvement Specialist Youlanda Outin toll-free at 1-888-422-8737 or Senior Regional Representative Susan Muza in San Francisco at (415) 947-4316.

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. Established by Congress in 1980 under the Superfund law, ATSDR conducts public health assessments at each of the sites on the EPA National Priorities List, as well as other sites when petitioned.

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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.