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 availability session on June 2, 2003 to discuss its public health assessment (PHA) on the uranium releases from the Y-12 plant in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

ATSDR is the principal federal public health agency charged with evaluating the human health effects of exposure to hazardous substances in the environment. The public health assessment is the primary public health process ATSDR uses to determine whether releases of hazardous substances from a waste site could have affected the health of people in nearby communities.

The public availability session is an informal meeting where community members can talk confidentially one-on-one with ATSDR staff about their health and site related concerns. The public availability session will include a poster session where community members have the opportunity to meet with ATSDR staff and ask questions about ATSDR's public health evaluation of the Y-12 uranium releases.

The public availability sessions will be held on Monday, June 2, 2003, from 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. and again from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at the following location:

Department of Energy Information Center
475 Oak Ridge Parkway
Oak Ridge, Tenn. 37830

The PHA was prepared in response to community health concerns related to the uranium released from the Y-12 plant in the past.

ATSDR concluded in the public health assessment that the level of uranium released from the Y-12 plant, past or present, does not present harmful health effects and poses no apparent health hazard, and recommends that the community be informed of its evaluation of the uranium releases from the Y-12 plant on the Oak Ridge Reservation.

The PHA document is available for public review and comments through

June 20, 2003 at the following repositories:

Oak Ridge Public Library
Civic Center
Oak Ridge, Tenn. 37830

ATSDR Oak Ridge Field Office
197 South Tulane Ave.
Oak Ridge, Tenn. 37830

Community members seeking information on the public availability session or the public health assessment may contact CDR William Taylor at the ATSDR Oak Ridge Field Office 865-220-0295 or Jack Hanley and Lorine Spencer, toll free at 1-888-422-8737. Callers should refer to the Oak Ridge Reservation in Oak Ridge, Tenn.