• Home
• About ATSDR
• Press Room
• A-Z Index
• Glossary
• Employment
• Contact Us
• CDC

ATSDR en Español

Search:

Skip directly to: content | left navigation | search

---

Find a Publication

1. ATSDR > Public Health Assessments & Consultations

PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT

CHEMFAX, INC.
GULFPORT, HARRISON COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI

APPENDIX A -- SITE MAPS

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure
Number        Title

1.        Site Location Map
   
   
2.        Site Map

Figure 1. Site Location Map


Figure 2. Site Map

APPENDIX B -- CONTAMINANT AND PATHWAY TABLES

LIST OF TABLES

Table
Number        Title

1.        Ambient Air, On Site
   
   
2.        Groundwater, On Site and Off Site
   
   
3.        Surface Soil, On Site and Off Site
   
   
4.        Subsurface Soil, On Site and Off Site
   
   
5.        Sediment, On Site and Off Site
   
   
6.        Surface Water, On Site and Off Site
   
   
7.        Summary--Completed Exposure Pathways
   
   
8.        Summary--Potential Exposure Pathways
   
   
9.        Comparison of Estimated Exposed Dose to Health Guidelines for Chemfax Workers On Site, Other Nearby Workers and Various Residents Off Site.

LIST OF ACRONYMS, CODES, AND ABBREVIATIONS

Table 1 Ambient Air, On Site

Table 2 Groundwater, On Site and Off Site

Table 3 Surface Soil, On Site and Off Site

Table 4 Subsurface Soil, On Site and Off Site

Table 5 Sediment, On Site and Off Site

Table 6 Surface Water, On Site and Off Site

Table 7 Summary--Completed Exposure Pathways

PATHWAY NAME:	AMBIENT AIR (on site)	AMBIENT AIR (off site)	PROCESS CHEMICALS	SURFACE SOILS (on site)	SURFACE SOILS (off site)
Source:	Chemfax and other industries	Local industries	Chemfax	Chemfax, possibly area industries	Source uncertain
Medium:	Air	Air	Process Chemicals	Surface Soils	Surface Soils
Exposure Point:	On site	Off site	On site	On Site	Off site
Exposure Route:	Inhalation	Inhalation	Skin contact, inhalation	skin contact, inhalation, ingestion	skin contact, inhalation, ingestion
Receptor Population:	Workers	Workers, shoppers, various residents, students	Workers	Workers	Nearby workers & mental health residents
Exposure Period:	Past, present, future	Past, present, future	Past, present, future	Past, present, future	Past, present, future
Estimated Number Exposed:	30 to 60	More than 500	less than 50	30 to 60	unknown
Table Continues....

Table 7 (Continued) Summary--Completed Exposure Pathways

PATHWAY NAME:	SEDIMENT, SURFACE WATER (on site)	DITCH SEDIMENT, SURFACE WATER (off site)
Source:	Chemfax	Local industries
Medium:	Sediment, surface water	Sediment, surface water
Exposure Point:	On site	Off site
Exposure Route:	Skin contact, ingestion	Skin contact
Receptor Population:	Maintenance workers	Maintenance workers
Exposure Period:	Past, present, future	Past, present, future
Number Exposed:	Potentially about 5	Potentially about 5

Table 8 Summary--Potential Exposure Pathways

PATHWAY NAME:	PRIVATE WELL (on site)	PRIVATE WELLS (off site)	INDUSTRIAL SEAWAY
Source:	Chemfax	Local industries	Area runoff, industries
Medium:	Groundwater	Groundwater	Surface water, fish
Exposure Point:	On site	Off site	Off site
Exposure Route:	Ingestion	Ingestion, inhalation, skin contact	Skin contact, ingestion
Receptor Population:	Workers	Consumers served by private wells	Boaters, fishermen, swimmers
Exposure Period:	Past	Past, present, future	Past, present, future
Number Exposed:	Potentially about 60	Unknown	Unknown

Table 9. Comparison of Estimated Exposed Dose to Health Guidelines for Chemfax Workers On Site, Other Nearby Workers and Various Residents Off Site.

Contaminant	Exposure Pathway	Health Guideline for Ingestion - mg/kg/day
		Value	Source	Exceeded by Estimated Exposure Dose
2-methylnaphthalene	Soil On Site	None	None	None
Benzo(a)anthracene	Soil On Site Soil Off Site	None None	None None	None None
Benzo(b/k)fluoranthene	Soil On Site Soil Off Site	None None	None None	None None
Endrin Ketone	Soil On site	None	None	None
4,4-DDD*	Soil Site	None	None	None
Indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene	Soil On Site	None	None	None
Naphthalene	Soil Site	None	None	None
Phenanthrene	Soil On Site Soil Off Site	None None	None None	None None

^*4,4-DDD = p,p'dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane.

Table 9 (Continued) Comparison of Estimated Exposed Dose to Health Guidelines for Chemfax Workers on Site, Other Workers and Various Residents Off Site.

Contaminant	Exposure Pathway	Health Guideline for Ingestion - mg/kg/day
		Value	Source	Exceeded by Estimated Exposure Dose
Aluminum	Soil On Site Soil Off Site	1 1	RfD* RfD	No No
Calcium	Soil On Site Soil Off Site	50 50/11.43	RDA** Adult RDA Adult/Child	No No
Cobalt	Soil On Site	None	None	None
Copper	Soil On Site Soil Off Site	0.02 0.02	ADI*** ADI	No No
Iron	Soil On Site Soil Off Site	0.14 1.13/0.14	RDA Adult RDA Child/Adult	No No
Lead	Soil On Site Soil Off Site	None None	None None	None None
Magnesium	Soil On site	15.6/5	RDA Adult	No
Mercury	Soil On Site Soil Off Site	0.002/0.007 0.002/0.007	I/A MRLa I/A MRL	No No
Nickel	Soil On Site Soil Off Site	0.02 0.02	RfD RfD	No No
Sodium	Soil On Site	37.5-112 /15.45	ADI Adult	No

^*RfD = EPA's provisional Reference Dose.

^**RDA = Calculated from Recommended Dietary Allowance.

^***ADI = Calculated from the range of Estimated Safe and Adequate Dietary Intake.

^aI/A MRL = Intermediate and Acute Minimal Risk Levels.

APPENDIX C -- RESPONSE TO PUBLIC COMMENTS

The Chemfax, Inc. Public Health Assessment was available for public review and comment from approximately October 1 to November 30. The comment period was announced in local newspapers. Copies were made available at the public library, and copies were sent to several individuals and organizations. A summary of comments received and our responses are presented in this section. The list of comments does not include any that raised health effect and other issues previously addressed in the Community Health Concerns Evaluation section.

COMMENT 1.	Some of the chemicals at Chemfax are listed chemicals requiring reporting and safe handling; none are particularly dangerous.
Response:	Essentially all chemicals have a capacity to pose a hazard to public health; many pose a hazard at very low concentrations and human exposure levels. The document has not been changed as a result of this comment.
COMMENT 2.	The public health hazard determination stated in Paragraph 1 in the Conclusions Section is based on testing by EPA and others in the past. That sampling is disputed as being subject to errors and irregularities. Three key air samples (CF-AT-03, CF-AT-04, and CF-AT-05) and a key soil sample (CF-SS-02) were taken in the immediate vicinity of process operations where a minor spill of raw material had occurred the day of the sampling. As a result, those data points reflect then current operations conditions that are not present today.
Response:	ATSDR's public health hazard determination for workers is based on air, soil, and sediment data. Reference information show that air sampling was conducted in the process area on May 31, 1990 and beyond the process area on May 31, June 1, and June 5 of that year. Concentrations were greatest in the process area; ATSDR considers some of the levels reported there to be of public health concern for the workers. For later sampling elsewhere on the property, some of the lower concentrations detected are considered substantive from a worker health perspective. ATSDR also notes that references show two soil samples designated CF-SS-02 were taken; one in 1988 and one in 1990. The soil sample the commenter identifies as being in the process area was taken in 1988. Thus, the minor spill mentioned as a confounding factor for the ambient air data would have been cleaned up in 1988, long before the 1990 air sampling. Our recommendation for additional ambient air sampling (Characterization Recommendation 1., Page 27 of the Public Comment Release) is for the purpose of clarifying air quality under present operations. ATSDR's rereview of reference material shows that Sample CF-SS-02 (taken in soil in 1989) was not the single example of elevated PAHs; a few soil and sediment samples taken in 1991 within and beyond the process area also had some elevated PAHs. ATSDR concludes that the available air, soil, and sediment data were sufficient bases for our public health hazard determination. The document has not been changed as a result of this comment.
COMMENT 3.	The only substantial finding of contamination is for ambient air quality (which the commenter says is based on disputed testing--see Comment 2). Neither the groundwater, soil, surface water, or other media tests contain any definitive findings of significant contamination beyond permissible limits.
Response:	The media contaminant test data sections (Pages 8, 9, and 10 and Tables of the Public Comment Release) do not express permissible limits. Instead, the contaminant information presented there is analyzed further and pertinent elements are discussed in the Public Health Implications Section. The most important public health issues then are summarized in the conclusions. Note that Conclusion 1. (Page 26 of the Public Comment Release), says that there may be adverse health effects associated with worker exposure to air, soil, and sediment. The document has not been changed as a result of this comment.
COMMENT 4.	The document does not identify any significant public health danger other than a possible exposure of workers to benzene, for which the risk is apparently manageable by protective clothing.
Response:	See response to comment 2.
COMMENT 5.	The need for further testing should be carefully evaluated based upon the demonstrated insufficiency of EPA's ambient air test.
Response:	See response to Comment 2.
COMMENT 6.	The other sources of air releases in the neighborhood should be positively ruled out before Chemfax is singled out as a public health hazard.
Response:	The public health hazard determination for Chemfax is based on worker exposures via soil and sediment, in addition to air. ATSDR believes that the available sampling data support that determination. Ambient air sampling has been recommended (Characterization Recommendation 2., Page 27 of the Public Comment Release) for the area potentially affected by other industries. The document has not been changed as a result of this comment.

Table of Contents

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 1825 Century Blvd, Atlanta, GA 30345
Contact CDC: 800-232-4636 / TTY: 888-232-6348 

Department of Health and Human Services