ATSDR MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT

Undocumented Workers Exposed to Asbestos in Three Cities
Workers, Their Families Urged to Seek Care

For Immediate Release: July 21, 2005

ATLANTA -Undocumented workers who did demolition work for Construction Personnel Incorporated (also known as Service Management Incorporated) between 1997 and 2000 in Baton Rouge, Chattanooga and Denver may have been exposed to asbestos, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) announced today. Many of the workers were recruited from Valle de Santiago, Guanajuato, México.

Those who lived with former workers also may have been exposed by workers bringing home asbestos fibers on their clothes. Breathing in asbestos fibers can cause lung diseases. Symptoms of the diseases can take 10-20 years or longer to appear.

Workers and their families who think they may have been exposed to asbestos should see their doctor or healthcare provider, avoid smoking, secondhand smoke and get a flu shot every year.

ATSDR has a toll-free line, 1-877-461-0204, where workers, their families and health care professionals can get health information on asbestos exposure. The call is free, confidential and bilingual (Spanish or English).

ATSDR recently trained local doctors in the three cities to prepare them for seeing workers and their families who may have been exposed to asbestos.

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 more than 400 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 by calling the NCEH/ATSDR Office of Communication at 770-488-0700.