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ATSDR MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT

ATSDR to hold public availability session to hear community's site-related health concerns in Salem, Mass.

For Immediate Release: April 23, 2003

ATLANTA - The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, today announced that a public availability session will be held on Monday, April 28, in Salem, Mass., to discuss community health concerns related to the Salem petition sites.

The purpose of the public availability session is for ATSDR representatives to meet with members of the community to learn about any health concerns that might be related to the residential properties near Witchcraft Heights and Bentley elementary schools. The session will be held from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on April 28 at the Salem High School Library's Instructional Media Center at 77 Willson Street.

The site is the subject of a petitioned public health assessment that will be prepared. The petition sites include properties that received tannery waste in the past.

Public availability sessions are not intended to be large-scale meetings. Instead, community members are invited to drop in at any time during the session and meet one-on-one with ATSDR staff to discuss health concerns that might be related to the Salem petition sites. Attendance is open to the public, and individual conversations with staff during the session will be confidential. No appointments are necessary.

Topics to be discussed include: explaining the public health consultation process; discussing the information and data acquired to date; gathering concerns and information from the public; answering questions; and discussing timelines for the completion.

Community members seeking information on public availability session procedures may contact Health Education Specialist Sandra M. Lopez-Carreras, toll free, at 1-888-422-8737, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Regional Representative Gary Perlman also may be contacted at 617-918-1492. Callers should refer to the Salem site in Massachusetts.

Members of the news media may request an interview with ATSDR staff by calling Elaine McEachern in the ATSDR Office of Policy and External Affairs at 770-488-0700.

This page updated April 24, 2003
For more information, contact ATSDR at:
770-488-0700 or e-mail (news media)