Evaluation of Exposure to Historic Air Releases Abex/Remco Facility
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PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT EVALUATION OF EXPOSURE TO HISTORIC AIR RELEASES FROM THE ABEX/REMCO HYDRAULICS FACILITY, WILLITS, MENDOCINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA CERCLIS CAD000097287 Prepared by: California Department of Health Services Under Cooperative Agreement With the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Table of Contents Summary........................................................................................................................................ 1 Background and Statement of Issues .......................................................................................... 5 Information about Remco ........................................................................................................... 6 Land Use..................................................................................................................................... 7 Demographics ............................................................................................................................. 7 History of Chrome-Plating Operations and Pollution Control at Remco ................................... 8 Exposure Pathways, Environmental Contamination, and Public Health Implications ....... 11 Current/Future Inhalation Exposure Pathway........................................................................... 11 Past Completed Exposure Pathway .......................................................................................... 11 Characterization of Exposure.................................................................................................... 12 Estimation of the Size of the Populations within Different Exposure Contours.................................................................................................................................... 16 Public Health Implications........................................................................................................ 17 Evaluation of Cancer Health Effects: Cancer Risk Estimates .................................................. 23 Increased Cancer Risk Estimates for the Willits Community .................................................. 25 Comparison of Occupational Chromium Levels Associated Increased Lung Cancer Risk with Air Modeling Levels Estimated Near Remco..................................... 28 Health Outcome Data................................................................................................................ 30 Other Potential Sources of Exposure Not Evaluated (Data Gaps)............................................ 34 Quality Assurance and Quality Control.................................................................................... 35 Limitations of Evaluation ......................................................................................................... 35 Community Health Concerns/Health Concerns Evaluation................................................... 36 Introduction and Purpose.......................................................................................................... 36 Process for Gathering Community Health Concerns................................................................ 36 Community Involvement and the Development of the Site Team ........................................... 37 Community Concerns and Health Effects Evaluation .............................................................. 38 General Community Concerns.................................................................................................. 45 Children’s Health Considerations............................................................................................. 48 Conclusions.................................................................................................................................. 48 Recommendations....................................................................................................................... 49 Public Health Action Plan (PHAP) ........................................................................................... 50 Actions Completed ................................................................................................................... 50 On-going Actions...................................................................................................................... 50 References.................................................................................................................................... 52 Preparers of Report .................................................................................................................... 60 Certification................................................................................................................................. 61 Appendix A—Glossary............................................................................................................... 62 Appendix B—Figures ................................................................................................................. 70 Appendix C—Tables................................................................................................................... 76 Appendix D—Atmospheric Dispersion Modeling Report..................................................... 115 Appendix E—Toxicological Summary for Chromium.......................................................... 145 Noncancer Health Effects ....................................................................................................... 146 Known Toxicity of Chromium ............................................................................................... 148 Effects that Have Been Studied and Do not Seem To Be Associated with Chromium Exposure....................................................................................................... 153 Cancer Health Effects ............................................................................................................. 154 Appendix F—Evaluation of Community Health Concerns .................................................. 157 Cancer Concerns..................................................................................................................... 158 Noncancer Health Concerns ................................................................................................... 160 Appendix G—Public Comments and CDHS/ATSDR Responses......................................... 164 Summary The Environmental Health Investigations Branch (EHIB), within the California Department of Health Services (CDHS), has prepared this public health assessment under a cooperative agreement with the federal Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (ATSDR). This public health assessment addresses the public health implications from exposure to historic (1963 – 1995) air releases of hexavalent chromium from the Abex/Remco Hydraulics facility (hereafter “Remco”) in Willits, California. CDHS will prepare a second, comprehensive public health assessment evaluating all potential routes of exposure (ingestion, inhalation, dermal contact, etc.) to Remco-related contaminants. The Remco site is located at 934 South Main Street, in the City of Willits, California. Ownership of the facility changed several times in its 55-year history, with Whitman Corporation (formerly IC Industries) becoming the last owner in 1988. In 1997, as a result of a law suit filed by the City of Willits against the former owners of the site, the Federal District Court for Northern California ordered a Consent Decree*, establishing the Willits Remediation Trust (hence forth referred to as the Willits Trust). The Willits Trust is responsible for site investigation and clean-up activities set forth in the Consent Decree. Under the Consent Decree, site investigation and cleanup must follow the National Contingency Plan (NCP) rules (see glossary Appendix A). The Consent Decree also includes a provision for medical monitoring. In addition to the Consent Decree, the Remco site is currently under investigation by the Regional Water Quality Control Board, North Coast Region (RWQCB), for contamination of the soil and groundwater. In June 2000, due to ongoing community health concerns about the Remco site, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) requested assistance from CDHS to evaluate the potential health impact posed by the facility. Since that time, CDHS has been conducting public health assessment activities and working with the Willits community. In July 2003, a public comment draft of the public health assessment was released to the public and other stakeholders for review and comment. The comments and CDHS responses are provided in Appendix G. The public health assessment process includes an evaluation of existing environmental data and identification of exposure pathways to determine whether the release of contaminants (chemicals) from a hazardous waste site or industrial facility impacts or has impacted the health of people in the surrounding communities. An important element of the public health assessment process is documenting and responding to community health concerns. CDHS has conducted a number of community outreach activities in an effort to collect and understand health concerns that community members believe are related to operations and/or contamination from the Remco facility. Community members have expressed health concerns about various types of cancer, reproductive issues, and a number of other noncancer health effects.