ATSDR Releases Monsanto/Solutia Health Assessment For Public Review And Comment

Calhoun County, Anniston, Alabama

Friday, December 10, 1999

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced today the release of the draft results of the public health assessment for the Solutia, Inc., site (also known at the Monsanto site) in Anniston, Alabama. The public health assessment was prepared by the Alabama Department of Public Health under a cooperative agreement with ATSDR.

The public health assessment was conducted to find out if adverse health effects could result from possible human exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the area around the Solutia, Inc., site. Environmental samples which were analyzed were limited to surface soil, subsurface soil, and sediment samples collected under a 1996 Consent Order.

Public health assessments report information about hazardous substances in the environment and evaluate whether exposure to those substances in the past, present or future could harm people in the area. They identify health studies or other activities that might be needed and make recommendations to other government agencies, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and state and local health and environmental departments, concerning actions to protect public health.

Public health assessments rely on three sources of information: environmental data, health data and reports of community concerns. Environmental data detail the chemicals at a site and indicate their potential pathways to reach humans. Health data include reports of injury, disease or death in the community, as well as information on the known human effects of chemicals at the site. Reports of community concerns document the public's descriptions of how the site affects their health and quality of life.

Representatives from ATSDR and the Alabama Department of Public Health will be available to discuss the public health assessment with the community during EPA's public information meeting at 6:00 p.m. on December 14. They will also be available to meet with citizens one-on-one at the public availability session which follows from 8:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. at the Anniston City Meeting Center at 1615 Noble Street.

The health assessment will be made available for public review and comment on or about December 13, 1999, at the following repositories:

Carver Branch Library
722 West 14th Street
Anniston, AL 36201
Telephone: (256) 237-7271

Anniston, Calhoun County, Library
108 East 10th Street
Anniston, AL 36201
Telephone: (256) 237-8501

Citizens Against Pollution (CAP) Headquarters
1012 West 15th Street
Anniston, AL 36201
Telephone: (256) 236-6773

The public comment period for the health assessment will run from December 13, 1999 through February 11, 2000.

Please send written comments to:

Chief, Program Evaluation, Records and Information Services Branch
ATSDR
1600 Clifton Road, NE, Mailstop E-56
Atlanta, Georgia 30333

Comments received during the public comment period will be logged and become part of the administrative record for the health assessment. Comments (without indication of who made them) and responses will be included in an appendix to the final health assessment. Although names of those who have submitted comments will not be included in the final health assessment, they are subject to release under the Freedom of Information Act.

Community members seeking information on the procedures or content of the health assessment should contact ATSDR Community Involvement Specialist Perstephanie Thompson, toll free, at 1-888-42-ATSDR (1-888-422-8737). Callers should refer to "Solutia site" when asking to speak with someone in the Division of Health Assessment and Consultation. The ATSDR Regional Representative, Carl Blair, also may be called for information at (404) 562-1786.

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