Bear Creek, PA Residents Should Continue Drinking, Cooking with Bottled Water
Butler County, Bear Creek, Pennsylvania
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Bear Creek Residents Should
Continue Drinking, Cooking with Bottled Water, Health Agency Says
Using groundwater for showering, bathing
is OK
ATLANTA - People living or working in the Bear Creek Chemical Area Site in
Butler and Armstrong Counties, Pa., should continue drinking and cooking with
only bottled water, according to a public health assessment released by the
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).
The ATSDR report states that at current levels, exposure to groundwater contaminants
from showering and bathing are not likely to result in adverse health effects.
Residents may use groundwater for these and other household uses.
Since mid-2001, community members with contaminated water supplies have received
bottled drinking water from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
(PDEP), the lead agency involved with environmental sampling and investigation
at the site. PDEP currently provides bottled water to more than 900 households
and businesses.
Regarding past exposure to contaminants in drinking water, ATSDR finds that
not enough data exists to determine whether drinking water from area groundwater
supplies was a health hazard.
The amounts of surface contaminants at the Bear Creek Chemical Area Site
are too low to make people sick, ATSDR concludes.
ATSDR earlier issued the health assessment for public comment. The current
report contains comments made to ATSDR and the agency's responses.
The current report also includes results of a review of the Pennsylvania
cancer registry for Bear Creek area ZIP codes. ATSDR found no pattern of elevated
cancer rates within the Bear Creek Chemical Area Site. ATSDR conducted the
cancer data review in response to community member's concerns about cancer.
The Bear Creek Chemical Area Site comprises 26 known or suspected industrial
waste disposal areas. From as early as the 1930s until the 1970s, waste was
hauled from three nearby industrial facilities to several private properties
for disposal. In many cases, the waste was disposed of on land that had been
mined for coal. The disposal areas include a landfill, waste lagoons and drum
sites.
Groundwater near the site has been affected by several chemicals, including
resorcinol-a substance used in tire manufacturing and pharmaceuticals. Also
found in the area's groundwater are by-products of mineral oil manufacturing,
including several sulfonic acids and calcium petronates.
The public health assessment can be reviewed at:
Butler Area Public Library
218 North McKean St.
Butler, Pa.
Johan A. Beck Jr. Library
Butler Community College
Butler, Pa.
Community members seeking information about the procedures or the content
of the public health assessment may contact Environmental Health Scientist
Annmarie DePasquale toll-free at 1-888-422-8737. ATSDR Regional Representative
Lora Werner also may be contacted at 215-814-3141. Callers should refer to
the Bear Creek site in Pennsylvania.
|