Heavy metals and organic materials commonly contaminate urban soils.

Arsenic can effect almost every organ system in the body, including the brain; children are especially at risk.

Acute arsenic poisoning can cause vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, numbness and tingling of the extremities, muscle cramping, and, in extreme cases, death.

Long-term exposure to arsenic can cause cancer and may be associated with developmental effects, neurotoxicity, diabetes, pulmonary disease and cardiovascular disease.

DCHI helped at-risk urban gardens

In Philadelphia, New York City, and other major U.S. cities, a new hobby called urban gardening gathered momentum in apartments, residential homes, school, and other places in the hearts of the cities. The great idea of urban gardening, however, does come with risks. But with proper guidance, urban gardening provides a fun, healthy, and rewarding alternate to going to the grocery store.

SoilSHOP Initiative

ATSDR worked with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a group of artists called Futurefarmers to create an environmental art exhibit called “Soil Kitchen” (later expanded and renamed “soilSHOP” [Soil Screening, Health, Outreach, and Partnership])

ATSDR continues to participate in soilSHOPs to engage and inform residents about potential health hazards and give recommendations as to how residents can prevent exposures.

Lead can affect almost every organ and system in your body, yet lead exposure often occurs without obvious symptoms and can go unrecognized.

High levels of lead exposure can severely damage the brain and kidneys in adults or children and ultimately cause death.

Lead enters the body by breathing contaminated air or dust, eating contaminated foods, or drinking contaminated water.

Children are more vulnerable to lead poisoning than adults. Even at much lower levels of exposure, lead can affect a child's mental and physical growth.

Since the 1920’s, the tidal marshes of the LCP Chemical site, located north of Brunswick, Georgia, has been contaminated by toxic industrial waste. Among the many contaminants, investigators found PCBs, hydrocarbons, and heavy metals, including mercury, arsenic, and lead. These contaminants poison the dolphins in the nearby Turtle River and the fish in the marshes.

DCHI partnered with local, state, and federal agencies to address community concerns, as locals expressed dissatisfaction with the EPA’s proposed plan of cleanup activities. In response, DCHI and its partners planned regular community meetings, offered contaminant testing services, provided health education to vulnerable populations, and produced fish consumption guidelines for the Turtle River.

Elemental mercury exposure can happen in the home through household items or contaminated items.

Mercury is absorbed into the body most readily as a vapor in the air; when it is ingested or passes through the skin, it has less ability to harm you.

Mercury has both long term and short term effects, including problems with vision, numbness, loss of coordination, or speech impairment.

Fetal exposure to mercury or methylmercury in the womb can lead to cognitive defects.

Flooding after a heavy rainstorm in Arizona in 2015 released mercury from the subfloors of several school gymnasiums. The mercury was used as an ingredient in the production of a type of subflooring known as ‘Tartan’, and was breaking down and vaporizing into the school gyms. As a result, air from the gym was traveling through the ventilation systems into the rest of the rooms, contaminating the entire building.

The Arizona School Facilities Board (SFB) needed to act fast. In partnership with the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) and the ATSDR, the Arizona SFB assessed 168 schools’ floors in 154 schools through two rounds of investigations. ADHS and ATSDR worked together to conduct air quality monitoring and risk assessments and provide information about mercury vapor and children’s health to parents and the concerned public. Arizona’s proactive and comprehensive approach allowed collaboration with multiple agencies. Communication between the state, the agencies, and the public flowed effortlessly, and together with its partners, ATSDR was able to protect and educate these communities.

Air pollution, also referred to as particulate matter is a complex mixture of extremely small particles and/or liquid droplets coming from areas polluted by toxic substances.

Particles cause serious health effects by getting into the bloodstream or the lungs.

Particles travel long distances from their source, carried by wind, creating haze in our parks, damaging our crops, and harming our health.

Particulate matter exposure is linked to premature death in people with heart or lung disease, nonfatal heart attacks, irregular heartbeat, aggravated asthma, decreased lung function, and increased respiratory problems.

In June 2015, Brooklyn Township residents had had enough of the negative health effects of particulate matter from natural gas drilling and distribution. The residents of the beautiful rural Pennsylvania town had experienced poor air quality that caused upper respiratory tract irritations, including sore throats, headaches, and bloody noses. They requested assistance from the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PADOH), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), PADEP, and ATSDR.

ATSDR is responsible for investigating health hazards and protecting health, and engages communities, like Brooklyn Township, who experience exposure and effects of exposure to toxic substances across the nation. ATSDR works with the community and other agencies to identify, investigate, address, and eliminate health threats and protect residents’ health. In Brooklyn Township, ATSDR recommended actions that residents could take to protect their health and made recommendations to local and state authorities on what needed to be done to reduce these harmful particles.

Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a common industrial solvent from hazardous waste sites that can contaminate groundwater, soil, air, and drinking water.

TCE contaminated water and air, acting as a suspected hepatotoxin and carcinogen when people drink contaminated water or inhale TCE-contaminated water vapor.

Exposure to moderate levels of TCE may cause headaches, dizziness, sleepiness.

Exposure to high levels of TCE can cause skin rashes, change heart rhythms, cause liver, kidney, and nerve damage, coma and even death.

In the small town of Waycross, GA, residents voiced concern over their drinking water because of hazardous waste from two large industrial sites, an old rail yard and a former gas plant (est. 1916). Train brake degreasers containing TCE and tar by-products from the gas plant containing cancer-causing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) had permeated the area. In 2015, panic heightened when four children in the community were diagnosed with a rare childhood cancer.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) arrived in Waycross in early 2016 to investigate the hazards. In partnership with the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH), ATSDR gathered data, evaluated exposures, and investigated health impact. At a public meeting, scientists answered questions and clarified residents’ concerns. Contrary to common belief, TCE was not leaching into local aquifers or contaminating drinking water, but was present in the air and upper layer of soil. ATSDR oversaw cleanup of the area, using an “air stripper” to remove TCE evaporating from the ground. Throughout the investigation and cleanup, ATSDR kept the public informed and involved, ultimately bringing peace to a community in panic.

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) are a large group of man-made chemicals that have been used in industry and consumer products worldwide since the 1950s.

Some PFAS accumulate in the human body and degrade very slowly over time.

Chronic exposure has been shown to lead to the development of testicular, pancreatic, and liver cancers in animals. (EPA)

All possible health effects resulting from human exposure to PFAS at levels typically found in our water and food are still being studied.

In 2010 people in and around Decatur, Alabama, who lived near or downstream of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) producing facilities, were concerned about possible PFAS exposure in their water. These facilities used PFAS to make industry and consumer products because they are resistant to heat, oil, grease, and water, but may have been harming the people around them in making their products. ATSDR responded to community concerns, tested people for exposure, and found elevated blood levels of PFAS.

ATSDR maintained relationships with Decatur for six years, returning in 2016 to investigate the efficacy of protection efforts. While ATSDR was able to confirm that PFAS exposure was less, they discovered that community was able to place their trust in efforts by the government to rectify contamination and to protect human health. This provided a powerful signal to local, state, and federal officials to work harder for the trust and health of the people.