Community Health Concerns

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Public Health Assessment Public Comment Release

Ward Transformer NPL Site

Because of the limited access to the site and the surrounding areas, ATSDR considers small

children unlikely to be directly exposed to site contaminants. Small children might be affected

by previous exposure in the womb from their mothers' consumption of fish. Small children also

might eat contaminated fish. Older children who trespass on nearby property might be exposed

to contaminants in the surface water and sediments of streams downstream of the site. Refer to

the appropriate section for discussion of the possible health effects for these exposure pathways.

Health Outcome Data

Health outcome data (HOD) can give a more thorough evaluation of the public health

implications of a given exposure. HOD can include mortality information (e.g., the number of

people dying from a certain disease) or morbidity information (e.g., the number of people in an

area getting a certain disease or illness). The review is most effective when (1) a completed

human exposure pathway exists, (2) contaminant levels are high enough to result in measurable

health effects, (3) enough people are affected for the health effect to be measured, and (4) a

database is available to identify disease rates for populations of concern.

A review of health outcome data was not performed for this site. Although completed exposure

pathways exist at this site, the potentially exposed population is too small to allow statistical

differences in the rates of occurrence of relatively uncommon diseases to be measured.

Community Health Concerns

ATSDR staff attended a public meeting at the Morrisville Commerce Building in Morrisville,

North Carolina, on March 13, 2003. EPA organized the meeting to discuss the Ward

Transformer site. Approximately 10 community members and 15 local, state, and federal

officials attended the meeting. ATSDR discussed the PHA process and asked community

members to share their health concerns related to contaminants at the site. Following are

concerns expressed by members of the audience at the meeting; ATSDR responses were

developed after the meeting as part of producing this public health assessment:

Concern: Are workers of the businesses around Ward Transformer exposed to hazardous levels

of contaminants from the site?

Response: Currently available data suggests that soil at surrounding businesses has not been

impacted by the site. Assuming that workers at other businesses do not frequently contact the

soil at the Ward Transformer site, no adverse health effects would be expected. EPA is still in the

process of completing the remedial investigation for the site and determining the extent of

contamination. They will present the findings at a public meeting.

Concern: Is fish from Lake Crabtree safe to eat?

Response: In May 2004, the State of North Carolina issued an advisory against eating carp and

catfish from Lake Crabtree. They also advised people to limit consumption of all other fish from

Lake Crabtree to no more than one meal per month. In addition to the advisory about Lake

Crabtree, North Carolina has also issued advisories against eating any fish from Brier Creek