North Carolina Toxic Tort Lawsuit Information: ATSDR Activities in NC

North Carolina Toxic Tort Lawsuit:The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is the main public health agency responsible for implementing the health-related provisions of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) for each state in the United States.

The ATSDR has established a relationship with North Carolina for the general safety for the people of the state for toxic pollutants and diseases. The ATSDR identifies polluted sites and takes the appropriate actions to resolve the problem. Below is the entire report from the ATSDR describing their relationship with the State of North Carolina, which includes all activities the ATSDR is persuing in this state, such as clean up of a pollutant from groundwater, air, or soil, and how such a pollutant will effect the public's health.

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ATSDR in Partnership With North Carolina

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is the lead public health agency responsible for implementing the health-related provisions of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). ATSDR is an Atlanta-based federal agency with more than 400 employees and an annual budget for 2003 of approximately $82 million. ATSDR is responsible for assessing the presence and nature of health hazards at specific Superfund sites, helping to prevent or reduce further exposure and illnesses resulting from those hazards, and expanding the knowledge base about the health effects of exposure to hazardous substances.

ATSDR works closely with state agencies to carry out its mission to serve the public by using the best science, taking responsive public health actions, and providing trusted health information to prevent harmful exposures and disease related to toxic substances. ATSDR provides funding and technical assistance to states and other partners through cooperative agreements and grants to identify and evaluate environmental health threats to communities. These resources enable state and local health departments and other grantees to further investigate environmental health concerns and to educate communities. From fiscal years 1989 through 2003, ATSDR awarded more than $4.5 million-;more than $415,000 in the last 2 years-;in direct funds and services to North Carolina for comprehensive support of its environmental health unit. In addition to direct funds and services, ATSDR staff provides technical and administrative guidance for state-conducted site activities.

ATSDR Site-Specific Activities

Public Health Assessment-Related Activities

One of the agency's important mandates is to conduct public health assessments of all National Priorities List (NPL) sites and of other sites where a significant threat to public health might exist. Thirty-one sites have been designated to the NPL in North Carolina.

A public health assessment is a written, comprehensive evaluation of available data and information on the release of hazardous substances into the environment in a specific geographic area. Such releases are assessed for current or future impact on public health. ATSDR, in collaboration with public health and environmental officials from North Carolina, has conducted 32 public health assessments in the state, including the following recent examples.

Barber Orchard-;Barber Orchard, west of Waynesville, is a former commercial apple orchard. The site is now being developed as a residential community.

During the orchard operation, pesticide mixtures were used to control insects and rodents. These mixtures were delivered to trees using a pressurized underground piping system. Product application, leakage of the piping system, and spills during product mixing are thought to have led to contamination of the groundwater and soil. Pesticides, arsenic, and lead have been detected in site soils and in private drinking wells on the site.

In a public health assessment released in July 2002, ATSDR concluded that current exposures to site contaminants are not likely to result in adverse health effects. Residents are filtering their water to remove contaminants, and connections to the municipal water supply will be available within 2 years. In addition, frequently used areas of residential lots with high arsenic and lead soil levels have been cleaned up to safe levels.

ATSDR also did an exposure investigation at this site to look at lead and arsenic levels in children and adults. No levels of health concern were found.

Davis Park Road Trichloroethene (TCE)-;The Davis Park Road TCE site is in the southwestern part of Gastonia. Groundwater at the site was contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including TCE and tetrachloroethene (PCE). These compounds reportedly originated from contaminated soil behind a local auto repair shop. Groundwater contamination was detected in private wells in the area, so residents have been provided with filters for their private wells or have been connected to the municipal water system.

In a public health assessment released in April 2002, ATSDR concluded that the Davis Park Road TCE site does not pose a public health hazard at this time. Residents are no longer drinking contaminated water, and levels of contaminants in soil are too low to cause health effects. ATSDR considers the site a past public health hazard: in the past, the maximum levels of TCE detected in well water exceeded regulatory standards and could have increased the risk for adverse health effects if that water was used for drinking for many years. ATSDR provided the public with information on the potential health concerns associated with their past exposure. Arsenic and lead detected in site soils were present at levels too low to result in health effects.

Sigmon's Septic Tank Service Facility/Sigmon Environmental Services-;In June 2001, ATSDR received a request from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to determine the public health impact of Sigmon's Septic Tank Service Facility in Statesville on private wells near it. In 2002, ATSDR released two health consultations on this site.

In the health consultation released in March 2002, ATSDR reviewed groundwater data. ATSDR concluded that the chemicals identified in seven of the private wells surrounding the facility pose no apparent public health hazard to area residents using them.

In the health consultation released in July 2002, ATSDR reviewed the surface water data for the site. The surface water pathway is of concern because tributaries near the site flow into two major recreational fishing waters, the Catawba River and Lake Norman. Furthermore, analytical results of surface water and sediment samples collected by the North Carolina Superfund Section indicate chemical releases into the surface water bodies near the site. These analytical results may imply a potential for contamination of the biota within the recreational fished waters.

The July 2002 health consultation concluded that the chemicals identified in the nearby surface water features surrounding the facility pose no apparent public health hazard to area residents because levels of chemical exposures in the soil/sediment and surface water near the facility are well below exposure levels known to cause adverse health effects. In addition, chemical levels estimated in the edible tissue of sport fish assumed to exist in surface water features near the facility do not pose a potential impact to public health.

Weyerhaeuser Company-;The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) modeled air emissions of hydrogen sulfide from the Weyerhaeuser Company's pulp and paper mill in Plymouth. NCDHHS provided ATSDR with the summary results of the modeled results and asked ATSDR whether the data indicated a potential public health hazard to residents in the communities surrounding the facility.

In a health consultation released in October 2003, ATSDR concluded that residents living around the Weyerhaeuser paper pulp mill may be exposed to ambient air concentrations of hydrogen sulfide that exceed health-protective levels recommended by NCDHHS and the North Carolina Scientific Advisory Board. Modeled 24-hour hydrogen sulfide concentrations also exceed ATSDR's acute minimal risk level for hydrogen sulfide.

Because no actual ambient air monitoring data were available, the Weyerhaeuser pulp and paper mill was classified as an indeterminate public health hazard. ATSDR recommended air monitoring in residential areas near the facility to better define the ambient air concentrations of hydrogen sulfide to which people are being exposed. ATSDR also recommended a review of available information on potential releases of other site-related chemicals from nonprocess sources at the facility (e.g., the wastewater treatment plant) to determine whether off-site ambient air monitoring for other site-related chemicals is indicated.

Salisbury-;ATSDR is involved with two petition sites in Salisbury: APAC Carolina Inc. Hot Mix Asphalt and Associated Asphalt, a liquid asphalt storage and distribution facility. These sites have emissions of hydrogen sulfide; benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene; VOCs; and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In addition, local residents have odor complaints about the sites, and groundwater at the sites is contaminated.

ATSDR has agreed to write a health consultation on these sites and is working with local residents and state and county health officials.

Through a national cooperative agreement with the Migrant Clinicians Network (MCN), ATSDR provides assistance to health care providers working with migrant and seasonal farm workers. MCN, the second-largest clinical network in the nation, brings together clinicians from various professions to meet the needs of migrant and seasonal farm workers. MCN members in North Carolina are Blue Ridge Community Health Services, Inc. (Hendersonville); Goshen Medical Center, Inc. (Faison); Kinston Community Health Center (Kinston); Piedmont Health Services, Inc. (Chapel Hill); Tri-County Community Health Center (Newton Grove); and North Carolina Primary Health Care Association (Cary).

Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance System (HSEES)-;HSEES was established by ATSDR in 1990 to collect and analyze information about releases of hazardous substances that need to be cleaned up or neutralized according to federal, state, or local law, as well as threatened releases that result in a public health action, such as an evacuation. The goal of HSEES is to reduce the morbidity and mortality of first responders, employees, and the general public resulting from hazardous substances emergencies. Fifteen state health departments, including North Carolina, currently participate in HSEES. HSEES captures data on more than 8,000 events annually. Of these events, 80% occur at fixed facilities, and 20% are transportation-related events. Most events occur between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday. People most often injured are employees.

Environmental Exposure to Diisocyanate-;The North Carolina Division of Public Health's Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, through a cooperative agreement with ATSDR, is studying the possibility of diisocyanate exposures in communities residing near facilities that use these compounds. The study involves a stepwise approach of air monitoring and sampling, questionnaire administration, and blood testing for diisocyanate antibodies in people living within a quarter mile of a facility. If air monitoring does not indicate the presence of diisocyanate in residential air, another community near another facility will be selected. Four communities near facilities, along with four comparison communities, will be tested. Comparison communities are selected on the basis of socioeconomic, race, and percent homeownership factors. North Carolina and ATSDR are working cooperatively with county health departments, the facility, and the American Chemical Society's Diisocyanate Panel. Air monitoring began around the first facility in early November 2003.

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see also:

CO Colorado (CO) Toxic Tort Lawyer: ATSDR Activities in Colorado
Colorado (CO) Toxic Tort Lawyer on state environmental law.

NV Nevada (NV) Toxic Tort Lawsuit: ATSDR Activities in Nevada
Nevada (NV) Toxic Torts

Sites Under Investigation Toxic Tort Lawyer: ATSDR Activities in The United States
Toxic Tort Lawyer: Agency For Toxic Substances & Diseases Registry