ATSDR MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT

ATSDR Report Finds No Public Exposure to Contaminated
Groundwater from the Oak Ridge Reservation

Public may comment on the health assessment through August 19

For Immediate Release: July 8, 2005

ATLANTA - The public comment version of the public health assessment evaluating off-site groundwater adjacent to the Oak Ridge Reservation was released by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). The assessment is available for public comment and review through Aug. 19.

This health assessment focuses on human exposure to off-site groundwater. Findings include:

• People using private residential wells near the Oak Ridge Reservation are not being exposed to site-related groundwater contaminants. Therefore, the off-site groundwater does not pose a public health hazard.
• Site-related contaminants have not been detected in residential wells near the Oak Ridge Reservation.
• Site-related contaminants have not been detected in off-site groundwater near East Tennessee Technology Park and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
• Site-related contaminants have been detected off-site in the area immediately east of the Y-12 Complex. However, people are not exposed to the contaminants in the groundwater because there are no private wells in this area.

The public comment period is an opportunity for residents to review and comment on agency findings or proposed activities noted in the assessment. The assessment can be viewed at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/PHA/region_4.html#groundwater, and will be available for public comment and review through Aug. 19, at

Oak Ridge Public Library
Civic Center
Oak Ridge, TN 37830

ATSDR Oak Ridge Field Office
197 South Tulane
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Roane State Community College
276 Patton Lane
Harriman, TN 37831

Harriman Public Library
1 Waldon Ave.
Harriman, TN 37748

Kingston City Library
1004 Bradford Way
Kingston, TN 37763

Rockwood Public Library
117 N. Front Ave.
Rockwood, TN 37854

Please send requests for copies of the public health assessment and comments concerning the document to:

Chief, Records Management Activity, ATSDR
ATTN: Oak Ridge Reservation
1600 Clifton Road, N.E. (MS E-60)
Atlanta, GA 30333

Comments received during the public comment period will be logged into the ATSDR administrative record. All comments that are received along with ATSDR responses will appear in an appendix to the final version of the report. The names of individuals and groups who submit comments will not appear in the report. However, the names will be subject to release for requests made under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.

Members of the community who have questions about this public health assessment or ATSDR activities at the Oak Ridge Reservation may contact Dr. William Taylor in ATSDR's Oak Ridge Field Office at 865-220-0295.

ATSDR, a federal public health agency of the US 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. Headquartered in Atlanta, ATSDR is staffed by more than 400 health professionals including epidemiologists, physicians, toxicologists, engineers and public health educators.

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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.