Two separate public health evaluations related to the WR Grace Superfund Site in Acton, MA are currently underway. Both are due to be completed in Spring 2004. They are:

1. Public Health Risk Assessment by WR Grace, under EPA guidance: This risk assessment will help determine the future level of cleanup required at the site. It will not assess public health risks related to previous contamination levels in the drinking water or elsewhere.

2. Public Health Study by ATSDR (a federal agency under the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia). This study will consider past and/or present exposures to site contaminants and look at available public health data, including cancer rates. It will not evaluate the effect of exposure to multiple chemicals at once, but instead evaluate risk associated with each chemical in isolation.

Public comments are welcome on both of these documents.

ATSDR
If you have any site related health concerns that you would like ATSDR to consider as part of its study, please contact ATSDR asap.

Mr. Robert Knowles, Lead Health Assessor, ATSDR
Rknowles@cdc.gov
1-888-422-8737

Or Mr. William Sweet, Senior Regional Representative for EPA Region I
sweet.william@epa.gov
1-617-918-1495

ATSDR’s website is: www.atsdr.cdc.gov.
The ATSDR website includes fact sheets about VDC, vinyl chloride, benzene, arsenic, and other toxic chemicals.

EPA
EPA’s website is: www.epa.gov

To see the latest "EPA Community Update" about the WR Grace Site in Acton, including a map of the contamination, go to:

http://www.epa.gov/region01/superfund/sites/graceacton/41530.pdf