ATLANTA - The federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) concludes that for most of the chemicals measured in the outdoor air, the available air monitoring data are not adequate to evaluate fully the potential public health consequences of the Intel-New-Mexico air emissions. ATSDR recommends several public health actions including exploring the possibility of conducting additional sampling and monitoring to characterize residential exposures, physician health education, and reduction of air emissions where feasible. ATSDR is issuing the health consultation for public comment on February 2, 2009. Public comments will be accepted through April 3, 2009.

For this consultation ATSDR reviewed outdoor air quality data gathered by several parties including outdoor monitoring data collected by the New Mexico Environmental Department (NMED) and Intel-New Mexico in 2003 and 2004, as well as air modeling studies and outdoor air samples collected by NMED in residential areas near Intel-New Mexico in 2002 and 2003.

ATSDR concludes that data collected and reviewed are not sufficient to fully evaluate the potential public health consequences of air emission from Intel-New Mexico. The monitoring methods selected provide some useful insights about air quality.

A review of peak 1-hour levels of selected chemicals such as ammonia and propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate, suggests that the Intel-New Mexico facility may be the source of some of them.  However, the measured air pollution levels of these chemicals were below levels of health concerns. Therefore they are unlikely to pose a public health risk.

ATSDR is hosting community meetings to discuss the health consultation and to receive public comments on February 10, 2009 7:30p.m. - 9:30p.m., and February 11, 2009, 2:00p.m. - 4:00p.m. There will be a brief presentation at the beginning of each meeting. A media availability session will be held on February 10, 2009 at 6:00p.m. All meetings will be held in the Rio Rancho Room at The Inn at Rio Rancho Conference Center, 1465 Rio Rancho Drive SE, Rio Rancho, New Mexico, 87124. The meetings are open to the public.

Interested persons may access the health consultation on February 2 via the internet at: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/intel

A copy of the health consultation will also be available for review on or after February 3, 2009 at the following locations:

Corrales Community Library
84 West La Entrada Road
Corrales, NM 87048
Ph: 505-897-0733

Rio Rancho Library
950 Pinetree Rd. SE
Rio Rancho, NM
Ph: 505-891-5013

ATSDR will accept comments on the health consultation through April 3, 2009. Comments on the health consultation must be made in writing. Comments received during the public comment period will be logged into the ATSDR administrative record for the health consultation and will appear in the final health consultation. Comments received (without the names of individuals who submitted them) and ATSDR's responses to these comments will appear in an appendix to the final public health consultation. Names of those who submit comments, however, will be subject to release in answer to requests made under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Send comments to: atsdrrecordscenter@cdc.gov, or mail to:

Records Center, ATSDR
ATTN: Intel-New Mexico Site
1600 Clifton Road, N.E. MS F-09
Atlanta, GA 30333

For more information, community members may contact:

• Peter Kowalski, Site Team Leader at 770-488-0776 or email him at pek2@cdc.gov

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.

###

Members of the news media can request an interview by calling the NCEH/ATSDR Office of Communication at 770-488-0700 or e-mail (news media).