ATSDR MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT

ATSDR Releases Final Version of its Public Health Assessment
of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command Site in Quantico, Va.

Agency Categorizes the Site as No Apparent Public Health Hazard

For Immediate Release: July 19, 2004

ATLANTA - The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has released the final version of its public health assessment of the U.S. Marine Corps Combat Development Command site in Quantico, Va. (MCCDC Quantico).

Regarding identified exposure situations at MCCDC Quantico, ATSDR has not identified any past, current or future public health hazards associated with site-related contaminants at MCCDC Quantico. ATSDR classifies these exposure situations as no apparent public health hazard.

The public health assessment was previously made available to the public for review and comment. The final version includes the comments made by members of the public and ATSDR's responses to the comments.

The public health assessment is available for review at the following three repositories:

John Musante Porter Memorial Library
Reference Section
2001 Parway Blvd.
Stafford, Va.

Chinn Park Regional Library
Management and Government Information Center (MAGIC)
13065 Chinn Park Drive
Prince William, Va.

Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Branch
3250 Catlin Ave.
Quantico, Va.

For more information, community members can contact Health Assessor Scott Sudweeks or Health Communications Specialist Januett Smith-George, toll-free, at 1-888-422-8737. Regional Representative Tom Stukas also can be contacted at 215-814-3142. Callers should refer to the MCCDC Quantico site in Quantico, Va.

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. 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 with ATSDR staff by calling Jennifer Sarginson or Jill Smith in the ATSDR Office of Communication at 770-488-0700.