ATSDR Hosts Community Meetings About Its 2002 Dioxin Study For The Exposure Investigation In Calcasieu and Lafayette Parishes in Louisiana

Lafayette County, Lafayette, Louisiana

Friday, January 11, 2002

What: The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency of the U.S. Department Health and Human Services, will conduct two community meetings in Calcasieu and Lafayette Parishes in Louisiana.

When & Where: The meetings will take place on the following dates:

Tuesday, January 15, 2002 7:00pm - 9:00pm Lake Charles Civic Center 900 Lakeshore Drive Lake Charles, LA 70669

Thursday, January 17, 2002 7:00pm - 9:00pm Holiday Inn Holidome Conference Center 2032 NE Evangeline Thruway Lafayette, LA

A media availability session will be held on January 15 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the Lake Charles Civic Center Contraband room.

Why: ATSDR is sponsoring a follow-up exposure investigation in the Calcasieu and Lafayette parishes. The Agency's first dioxin exposure investigation was completed in 1998. Some local residents were found to have higher-than-expected levels of chemicals called dioxins in their blood. To follow-up on that finding, ATSDR is planning an investigation to determine the amount of dioxins and other chemicals, called volatile organic compounds (VOCs), present in people who live in the parishes.

Background: An exposure investigation is one approach ATSDR uses to develop a better characterization of past, current and possible future human exposures to hazardous substances in the environment. There are three main ways ATSDR gathers information in an exposure investigation: bio-medical testing (for example, blood or urine sampling); environmental testing (for contaminated soil, air or water); and exposure-dose reconstruction (using environmental data and computer models to estimate past exposures). The results of exposure investigations are used to make public health decisions and to recommend appropriate public health actions.

Contact: Community members seeking information on the procedures of this exposureinvestigation should contact ATSDR Community Involvement Specialist, La Freta Dalton or Epidemiologist, Deborah Millette toll free, at 1-888-42-ATSDR (1-888-422-8737). Callers should refer to the "Dioxin Exposure Investigation." ATSDR Senior Regional Representative George Pettigrew in Dallas also may be called for information at (214) 665-8361.

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Related News Releases For Lafayette County, Lafayette, Louisiana

 

ATSDR Study Finds Dioxin Levels Among Lafayette Parish Residents Similar to National Levels
Release Date: Thursday, March 16, 2006
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Preliminary study and investigation results released in Calcasieu and Lafayette, La., Parishes
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The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency of the U.S. Department Health and Human Services, is currently in Lafayette Parish conducting door-to-door visits to homes in selected areas as part of the agency's 2002 Louisiana Dioxin Study.

ATSDR Sponsors Dioxin Study in Calcasieu and Lafayette Parishes of Louisiana
Release Date: Wednesday, January 23, 2002
ATSDR is sponsoring a follow-up exposure investigation in the Calcasieu and Lafayette parishes of Louisiana. An earlier investigation found some area residents had higher-than-expected levels of chemicals called dioxins in their blood. The current investigation will determine the amount of dioxins and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in residents of the parishes.

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