Public Invited to Comment on Lane Street Ground Water Contamination Report ATSDR to Host Public Meeting August 22

Elkhart County, Elkhart, Indiana

Monday, August 08, 2011

Groundwater beneath some properties along Lane Street in Elkhart, Indiana is contaminated with volatile organic compounds, including trichloroethylene (TCE), the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)concludes in its draft public health assessment. All homes with contaminated private wells have been switched to municipal water. However, a few of the wells contained TCE at levels that could have increased the risk of harm to children of women who used the water regularly while pregnant.

ATSDR recommends that anyone still using private wells in the area have their water tested regularly. ATSDR also recommends EPA conduct further tests to assess whether chemical vapors from the groundwater could be entering and building up inside homes in the area.

ATSDR will host a public meeting to discuss the findings and answer questions on Monday, August 22 at 7:00 pm at the Osolo Elementary School, 24975 County Road 6 East, Elkhart. US Environmental Protection Agency, Indiana Department of Environmental Management, and Elkhart County Health Department officials will also be present to answer questions about their activities at the site.

The ATSDR report on the Lane Street Ground Water Contamination site is available for review at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/PHA/HCPHA.asp?State=IN. A copy of the report has also been placed at the main branch of the Elkhart Public Library, 300 South Second Street, Elkhart.

ATSDR welcomes public comments on the Lane Street Ground Water Contamination Public Health Assessment through September 23, 2011.

Comments on the public health assessment must be made in writing. Comments received during the public comment period will be kept in the ATSDR administrative record for the public health assessment. Comments received (without the names of individuals who submitted them) and ATSDR's responses to these comments will appear in an appendix to the final public health assessment. Names of those who submit comments, however, will be subject to release in answer to requests made under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

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

Attention: Rolanda Morrison
RE: Lane Street Ground Water Contamination
ATSDR Records Center
4770 Buford Highway, NE (MS F-09)
Atlanta, GA 30341

For more information about the public health assessment, community members can contact Jill Dyken, Environmental Health Scientist, in Atlanta at JDyken@cdc.gov or 770-488-0768. Community members can also contact Mark Johnson, Senior Regional Representative, in ATSDR’s Chicago Office at 312-886-0840.

For more information, call 1-800-CDC-INFO.

Members of the news media can request an interview with ATSDR staff by calling the NCEH/ATSDR Office of Communication at 770-488-0070.

4770 Buford Highway NE, Atlanta, GA 30341-3717
Media inquiries: 770-488-0070
ATSDR Web site: www.atsdr.cdc.gov

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 News Releases For Elkhart County, Elkhart, Indiana

 

ATSDR Releases Final Public Health Assessment For Lane Street Ground Water Contamination
Release Date: Wednesday, July 17, 2013
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has released its final public health assessment for the Lane Street Ground Water Contamination site in Elkhart, Indiana.

ATSDR Invites Public Comment on the Revised Draft Lane Street Ground Water Contamination Report
Release Date: Thursday, March 14, 2013
Groundwater beneath some properties along Lane Street in Elkhart, Indiana, is contaminated with volatile organic compounds, including trichloroethylene (TCE), says the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) in its revised draft public health assessment. The report is available for public comment until April 29, 2013.

ATSDR releases final report on Lusher Avenue Groundwater Contamination
Release Date: Friday, July 24, 2009
About 200 people were exposed to chemicals in drinking water wells near Lusher Avenue in Elkhart, IN, in the late 1980s, including an estimated 53 who were exposed to levels that may put them at greater risk for adverse health effects, concludes the final public health assessment (PHA) on the site from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).

Public Comment Sought for the Lusher Avenue Groundwater Contamination ATSDR Assessment
Release Date: Monday, March 02, 2009
Two decades after contamination was first found in Elkhart groundwater, federal officials continue to advise people who live in affected areas and use private wells to take precautions. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) released its public health assessment of the site March 2 and is welcoming public comment on the assessment until March 31.

ATSDR to Host Open House Session about Upcoming Environmental Health Activities at the Lusher Avenue Groundwater Contamination Site
Release Date: Friday, October 31, 2008
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry will hold an Open House in Elkhart, Indiana to gather community health concerns from residents of neighborhoods near the Lusher Avenue Groundwater Contamination Site.

ATSDR To Hold Meetings About Its Public Health Assessment for the Conrail Rail Yard Superfund Site in Elkhart, Ind.
Release Date: Thursday, July 29, 2004
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will hold a public availability session followed by a public meeting Aug. 3, 2004, about the Conrail Rail Yard Superfund Site in Elkhart, Ind. The agency recently issued the public comment version of its public health assessment for the site. At the public availability session from 4:30-6:30 p.m., ATSDR representatives will be available to talk one-to-one with community members about health concerns they believe are related to possible exposure to contaminants from the Conrail site.

ATSDR Releases for Public Comment Its Public Health Assessment for the Conrail Rail Yard Superfund Site in Elkhart, Ind.
Release Date: Thursday, July 01, 2004
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, today released for public review and comment a public health assessment for the Conrail Rail Yard Superfund Site in Elkhart, Ind. The report was done at the request of community members and to update a preliminary public health assessment completed in 1989.

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