ATSDR - Rayonier Site in Port Angeles, Wash.

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ATSDR MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT

ATSDR Issues Final Health Assessment for Rayonier Site in Port Angeles, Wash.

Finds Site To Be An Indeterminate Public Health Hazard

For Immediate Release: June 8, 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, today is issuing the final public health assessment (PHA) of the Rayonier, Inc., pulp-and-paper mill site, in Port Angeles, Washington, and finds the site to be an indeterminate public health hazard. The finding was reached because of insufficient air data available to determine the extent to which workers and nearby residents were exposed during the mill operations.

After analyzing the available data, ATSDR also has reached the following conclusions:

Potential past air exposures during dismantling activities are unlikely to have resulted in adverse health effects.

Available data indicate the contaminants detected in finfish and shellfish caught off the mill shoreline would not be expected to produce adverse health effects in individuals who consume them. Still, the data are limited because the fish sampling might not have been in areas where the highest levels of contaminant deposits occurred.

Past and current exposures to on-site surface water, sediment and soil are unlikely to have resulted in adverse health effects. However, if land use is designated as nonindustrial, it could be necessary to re-evaluate site conditions for public health effects.

None of the contaminants detected in off-site soil would be expected to produce adverse health effects in potentially exposed residents.

No current exposure to on-site groundwater is present. Should on-site groundwater be used in the future as a primary drinking water source, however, the groundwater will need to be re-tested to ensure that the concentrations of contaminants are below levels of health concern.

Although no off-site private wells were sampled, it is unlikely that these wells were affected by Rayonier's activities. Groundwater flow is toward the Strait of Juan de Fuca and away from residential areas.

ATSDR makes the following recommendations:

Collect finfish and shellfish that are representative of harvested species and analyze the edible portions as a public health measure.

Re-evaluate on-site sediment, surface water and soil data for their public health significance if the site's land use (now zoned industrial) should be rezoned in future as nonindustrial.

Re-test on-site groundwater if this water is to be used as a primary drinking water source.

The PHA will be available for public review at the following repositories in Washington:
North Olympic Library System
207 South Lincoln St.
Port Angeles
Attn: Reference Services

Peninsula College
1502 East Lauridsen
Port Angeles

Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal Center
2851 Lower Elwha Road
Port Angeles

Community members seeking information on the procedures or the content of the public health assessment may contact Environmental Health Scientist Danielle Langmann or Senior Program Management Officer Januett Smith-George, toll-free, at 1-888-422-8737. Regional Representative Richard Robinson also may be contacted at 206-553-5114. Callers should refer to the Rayonier site in Port Angeles, Wash.

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.

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Updated by R. Searfoss July 19, 2004
For more information, contact ATSDR at:
770-488-0700 or e-mail (news media)