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ATSDR MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT
ATSDR Holding Public Meeting on May 25th
For Immediate Release: May 18, 2004
About its Agana Power Plant Public Health Assessment in Mongmong, Guam
ATLANTA — The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will hold a public meeting to discuss the findings in its public health assessment on the Agana Power Plant in Mongmong, Guam.
The meeting will be from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on May 25 at the Nuestra Senora de Las Aguas Catholic church in Mongmong.
ATSDR completed the public health assessment to address human exposure to various contaminants at the Agana Power Plant (APP) site.
Built in 1949, the APP was once owned and operated by the U.S. Navy. APP previously provided electricity to the Navy, the Guam government, and customers in the central and northern parts of the island.
The Navy Public Works Center and Guam Utilities Department, which formerly operated the plant, stopped generating power after NAS Agana's closure in 1995. After the Navy discontinued its power-generating activities, the Guam Power Authority began using the power plant as a substation, and the plant continues to operate as such. Since APP's closure, PCBs, dioxins, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons have been detected in soils and biota at or near the site. The Navy is currently cleaning up contaminated areas.
The public health assessment evaluates two possible exposure situations: (1) breathing contaminants from past APP stack discharges, and (2) drinking water from municipal or private wells and Agana Spring. The assessment also addresses several community concerns related to chemical releases from operation of the power plant and from historical battlefield releases and other military and non-military operations.
ATSDR has determined that exposure to the chemicals detected at the locations sampled do not pose a public health hazard. However, specific information about power plant operations is insufficient for a complete evaluation of past air emissions. Groundwater investigations are ongoing to better determine if contamination is present and if there is a need for further evaluation of water or soil gas.
Ongoing monitoring indicates that drinking water from municipal water supplies located near the Agana Power Plant pose no past or current hazards due to chemical contamination. ATSDR has included recommendations and noted ongoing actions by the military and Guam agencies that address community concerns and reduce potential exposures.
The public comment date for the public health assessment has been extended to June 1, 2004.
For more information, community members can contact Environmental Health Scientist Charles Grosse or Health Communications Specialist LaFreta Dalton, toll free, at 1-888-422-8737. Regional Representative Gwen Eng can be contacted at 415-947-4317.
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.###
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.
Updated by
R. Searfoss May 25, 2004
For more information, contact ATSDR at:
770-488-0700 or e-mail (news media)
ATSDR
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