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Public health advisory PDF

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s 363.7384 MONTANASTATE LIBRARY H2PHA AUGUST 18, 1994 PSu3bl6i3c7h3e8a4ltHh2apdhvais1o9ry94/C.I 1994 1 1 || || | 3 0864 0009115? Public Health Advisory From the Montana De^a^Ottt^HKalfralii^riVironmental Sciences and the Federal Agency for Toxic — crp ^ ftub^tances andDisease Registry MONTANA STATE LIBRARY Introduction 1515 E. 6th AVE. HELENA, MONTANA 59G20 TheMontanaDepartmentofHealthandEnvironmentalSciences (MDHES)isadvisingthe public to avoid a mine tailings areanearJoslyn andBradystreets onthewestside ofHelena. The tailings arelocatedadjacenttotherailroadtracksandalsoneartheRyanBallfieldComplex(please see map). The tailings of greatest concern lie on the north and south sides ofthe railroad tracks. Recentsamples takenfromthetailingsrevealedexceedinglyhighlevelsofarsenicandhighlevels of lead. Prolongeddirectcontactwiththetailingscouldbehazardoustohumanhealth. Thepublic should stay away from the obvious tailings area. The tailings appear as light-colored soils with littleornovegetationgrowingonthem. OnThursdayandFriday,August18and19,MDHESwill postwarning signs around the site. Who is involved with the site? The Montana Department ofState Lands discovered the site recently during investigation of abandoned mines and mine mills. Because MDHES believes there are current, viable landowners at the site, the Abandoned Mine Program turned the site over to the MDHES State Superfund hazardous substancescleanupprogram. MDHES has requested and JOSLYN STREETTAILINGS SITE received assistance from the AgencyforToxicSubstances Lewis andClark County and Disease Registry \ Fairgrounds (ATSDR)inAtlanta,Georgia. N CusterAve. ATSDR is a federal public health agency specializing Tailings in human health effects due Areas to exposure to hazardous A substances. toxicologist with ATSDR has recom- mended that Superfund prevent access to the site, keep the tailings from being carried off-site by wind or surface water run-off and continue to collect informa- tion about the extent of con- tamination. MDHESSuperfundpersonnelhavealsometwithcityandcountygovernmentrepresentatives as well as Babe Ruth Baseball and Small Fry Football Association representatives. Who is most at risk? Anyone who comes in direct contact with the tailings may be at risk. By comparison the levelsofarsenicfoundinthetailingsareabout60timeshigherthanarsenicfoundincontaminated EastHelenasoils. Samplesofsoiltakenattheballfieldindicatethatcontaminantlevelsarenormal andarenotatlevelsofpublicconcern. Based onavailableinformation,ATSDRsaystheballfields are safe for regular use. However, Superfund strongly advises the public stay away from the tailings areas. HOW CAN ARSENIC AND LEAD IN THE TAILINGS GET INTO MY BODY? Tailings are fine-grained and may be carried by wind or water. A person may come in contactwith the tailingsbyingestion, inhalationorskin exposure. Inaddition,pets maygetinto the tailings and get the contaminated dust on their coats, then bring ithome to their owners. Are arsenic and lead dangerous? Yes,botharsenicandleadareconsideredhazardoussubstances. Arsenicisknowntocause cancer and mayalso causenausea,vomiting, diarrhea, abnormalheartrhythm, andbloodvessel damage. Exposure to lead can affect almost every organ and system in the bodybut the central nervoussystemis themostsensitive. Childrenare especiallysusceptibletoleadpoisoning. Lead mayalso causelearningdifficulties andbehavioralproblemsinchildren. Leadis associatedwith high blood pressure in adults. Where can I obtain more information? MDHEShas moredetailedinformationaboutthesite andwillbehappytoshareitwiththe public. Call siteProjectManagerDenise Martin orSuperfundInformationOfficerJaneHeathat 444-1420 in Helena. What will happen next? Once MDHES completes a review ofownership records and site history, potentiallyliable persons will be asked to clean up the site. Ifpotentiallyliable persons are unable to respond in a timely manner, MDHES will contact the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to assist with emergency removal.

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