ATSDR Releases Health Consultation for the 35^th Avenue Site, North Birmingham, Alabama

North Birmingham, Alabama

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Disclaimer: A newer version of the 35th Avenue Site, Alabama Media Announcement with updated public comment period end date is available.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is seeking public comment on a health consultation released today for the 35th Avenue site in North Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama. The consultation reviews soil contamination in people’s yards on the site and includes residential properties in Collegeville, Fairmont, and Harriman Park. A limited number of homegrown produce test results are also evaluated.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) sampled environmental media in over 1,100 residential properties at the 35th Avenue site. This health consultation looked at the arsenic, lead, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (called PAHs) levels in residential surface soil and homegrown garden produce to see if people’s contact with these compounds could harm their health.

Based on the analysis of the 2012–2015 surface soil data and 2013 garden produce data, ATSDR concluded that the levels of arsenic, lead, and PAHs in surface soil at some properties could harm people’s health. Children are at higher risk than adults. Eating garden produce grown in arsenic and lead-contaminated soil will not harm people’s health when this is their only exposure. However, when people are also exposed to high levels of arsenic and lead in soil, they are more likely to develop health problems. The health consultation provides recommendations to protect people from harmful exposures.

To read the health consultation visit: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/35avenuesite/index.html

Copies of the health consultation can also be reviewed during regular hours at the Harriman Park Recreational Center, 4347 F. L. Shuttlesworth Drive, Birmingham, AL.

ATSDR will accept public comments on this health consultation until August 31, 2015.

Comments on the document must be made in writing and those received during the public comment period will be addressed in the final version. Comments (without the names of persons who submitted them) and ATSDR’s responses to the comments will appear in an appendix to the final health consultation. Names of those who submit comments will be subject to release should requests be made under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.

Send comments to: ATSDRRecordsCenter@cdc.gov, or mail to:

ATSDR Records Center
Attn: Rolanda Morrison
Re: Community Soil Exposures: 35th Avenue Site
4770 Buford Highway, NE (MS F-09)
Atlanta, Georgia 30341

For more information about the health consultation, community members can call 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636) and reference the 35th Avenue Site in North Birmingham or visit the 35th Avenue Site website: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/35avenuesite/index.html.

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ATSDR, a federal public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, evaluates the potential for adverse human health effects due to exposure to hazardous substances in the environment.

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Related Web Site(s)

35^thAvenue Site, North Birmingham
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asked the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) to review the results of soil and air samples collected at properties in the Collegeville, Fairmont, and Harriman Park communities in north Birmingham, Alabama. These communities are now part of the 35^th Avenue Site.

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Related PHA & HC For this Press Release

35^th Avenue Site
-Evaluation of Surface Soil and Garden Produce Exposures
Document Date: 1/18/2017 - HC  [PDF - 11173 KB]

35^th Avenue Site
-Evaluation of Surface Soil and Garden Produce Exposures
Document Date: 7/22/2015 - HC  [PDF - 8387 KB]

35^th Avenue Site
-Fact Sheet
Document Date: 7/22/2015 - HC  [PDF - 3946 KB]

Walter Coke, Inc. Site
-Assessment of Soil Exposures in Communities Adjacent to the Walter Coke, Inc. Site
Document Date: 8/1/2013 - HC  [PDF - 3305 KB]

Walter Coke Site, Inc.
-(a/k/a/ 35th Avenue Coke Site)
Document Date: 2/12/2013 - HC  [PDF - 428 KB]

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Related News Releases For North Birmingham, Alabama, USA

 

ATSDR Releases Final Health Consultation for the 35th Avenue Site, North Birmingham, Alabama
Release Date: Wednesday, January 18, 2017
(ATLANTA, GA) – The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) released its final report, an “Evaluation of Surface Soil and Garden Produce Exposures” for the 35^th Avenue site in North Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama. The public comment version was released on July 22, 2015.

ATSDR extends public comment period for health consultation, 35^th Avenue Site, North Birmingham, Alabama
Release Date: Thursday, August 27, 2015
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is seeking public comment on a health consultation released July 22, 2015 for the 35th Avenue site in North Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama. ATSDR will accept comments from the public on this report until September 30, 2015.

ATSDR Releases Health Consultation for Walter Coke Inc., North Birmingham, Alabama
Release Date: Thursday, August 01, 2013
The health consultation was conducted to determine if exposure to soil in yards, gardens, and schools in the Collegeville, Harriman Park, and Fairmont neighborhoods poses a public health hazard for people who live or work in the area.

ATSDR Releases Health Consultation for Walter Coke Inc., North Birmingham, Alabama
Release Date: Thursday, February 14, 2013
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is seeking public comment on a health consultation released on Tuesday, February 12, 2013, for the North Birmingham community. The health consultation is for Walter Coke, Inc., also known as the 35th Avenue Superfund site.

ATSDR Releases Health Consultation for Walter Coke Inc., North Birmingham, Alabama
Release Date: Tuesday, February 12, 2013
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is seeking public comment on a health consultation released today for the North Birmingham community. The health consultation is for Walter Coke, Inc., also known as the 35th Avenue Superfund site.

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