Health Consultation BISHOP TUBE SITE EAST WHITELAND TOWNSHIP, CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA JULY 16, 2008 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Public Health Service Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Division of Health Assessment and Consultation Atlanta, Georgia 30333 Health Consultation: A Note of Explanation An ATSDR health consultation is a verbal or written response from ATSDR to a specific request for information about health risks related to a specific site, a chemical release, or the presence of hazardous material. In order to prevent or mitigate exposures, a consultation may lead to specific actions, such as restricting use of or replacing water supplies; intensifying environmental sampling; restricting site access; or removing the contaminated material. In addition, consultations may recommend additional public health actions, such as conducting health surveillance activities to evaluate exposure or trends in adverse health outcomes; conducting biological indicators of exposure studies to assess exposure; and providing health education for health care providers and community members. This concludes the health consultation process for this site, unless additional information is obtained by ATSDR which, in the Agency’s opinion, indicates a need to revise or append the conclusions previously issued. You May Contact ATSDR TOLL FREE at 1-800-CDC-INFO or Visit our Home Page at: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov HEALTH CONSULTATION BISHOP TUBE SITE EAST WHITELAND TOWNSHIP, CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA Prepared By: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Division of Regional Operations Atlanta, Georgia 30333 TABLE OF CONTENTS 2.0 BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................................................1 2.1 DESCRIPTION OF SITE AND AREAS OF CONCERN..................................................................1 2.2 SITE HISTORY......................................................................................................................................6 2.3 COMMUNITY CONCERNS .................................................................................................................7 2.4 SUMMARY OF AVAILABLE DATA ....................................................................................................8 2.4.1 ON SITE CONTAMINATION ...............................................................................................................8 2.4.2 OFF SITE CONTAMINATION .............................................................................................................9 2.4.2.1 GROUNDWATER .................................................................................................................................9 2.4.2.2 SURFACE WATER.............................................................................................................................11 2.4.2.3 VAPOR INTRUSION...........................................................................................................................12 2.5 DATA QUALITY...................................................................................................................................14 2.6 CONTAMINANTS OF CONCERN....................................................................................................14 2.7 EXPOSURE PATHWAYS..................................................................................................................15 2.8 EXPOSURES AND DOSE ESTIMATES .........................................................................................16 3.0 DISCUSSION.......................................................................................................................................18 3.1 TOXICOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS..................................................................................................19 3.2 COMPLETED PATHWAYS OF EXPOSURE..................................................................................19 3.2.1 INCIDENTAL INGESTION OF SURFACE AND SPRING WATER IN AOC1............................19 3.2.1.1 PCE .......................................................................................................................................................20 3.2.1.2 TCE .......................................................................................................................................................21 3.2.2 INGESTION OF CONTAMINATED GROUNDWATER AT A RESIDENCE...............................22 3.2.3 INHALATION OF AND DERMAL EXPOSURE TO CHEMICALS FROM CONTAMINATED GROUNDWATER USED AT A RESIDENCE .................................................................................24 3.3 POTENTIAL PATHWAYS OF EXPOSURE ....................................................................................25 3.3.1 INCIDENTAL INGESTION OF UNTREATED GROUNDWATER FROM RESIDENTIAL TAPS IN AOC1 ...............................................................................................................................................25 3.3.2 INHALATION OF VAPORS FROM CONTAMINATED SPRING WATER IN STRUCTURES (DWELLING AND SPRING HOUSE) AND AMBIENT AIR ...........................................................26 3.3.2.1 WINDING WAY SPRING ...................................................................................................................26 3.3.2.2 SP-4 SPRING HOUSE.......................................................................................................................26 3.3.3 INHALATION OF VAPORS MIGRATING INTO DWELLINGS FROM UNDERLYING CONTAMINATED GROUNDWATER OR SOILS...........................................................................27 3.4 COMMUNITY CONCERNS ...............................................................................................................28 3.4.1 TCE AND CANCER ............................................................................................................................28 3.4.2 WORKER CONCERNS......................................................................................................................29 4.0 CHILD HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS.............................................................................................29 5.0 CONCLUSIONS ..................................................................................................................................30 6.0 RECOMMENDATIONS......................................................................................................................31 7.0 PUBLIC HEALTH ACTION PLAN ...................................................................................................32 7.1 Completed Actions ..............................................................................................................................32 7.2 Ongoing Actions ..................................................................................................................................32 7.3 Planned Actions...................................................................................................................................33 8.0 ATSDR PREPARER...........................................................................................................................33 9.0 ATSDR REVIEWERS.........................................................................................................................33 10.0 REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................................34 i TABLE OF CONTENTS (Cont.) List of Figures and Tables Figure 1: Site Location Map........................................................................................................2 Figure 2: Site Demographics Map .............................................................................................4 Figure 3: Off-Site Features Map ................................................................................................5 Table 1: CH1985 Untreated Residential Well VOC Results Summary ...................................10 Table 2: 30CR Monitoring Well VOC Results Summary ........................................................10 Table 3: 2007 Offsite Groundwater Results from Down Gradient Monitoring Wells................11 Table 4: Surface Water Sample Results Summary for AOC1 ................................................13 Table 5: 2005 Indoor Air Quality Sampling Event Results Summary .....................................14 Table 6: Exposure Pathways Summary .................................................................................17 Table 7: Estimated Children’s and Adult’s Exposure Doses for Completed Pathways ...........18 Table 8: Exposure Pathway and Public Health Category Summary .......................................31 ii 1.0 STATEMENT OF ISSUES On June 11, 2007, ATSDR received a petition to conduct “public health assessment activities” for the community surrounding the former Bishop Tube manufacturing facility in East Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania. Following receipt of this request, ATSDR worked closely with the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PADOH) and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) to identify and evaluate potential sources of environmental sampling data. The results of an on-site investigation in 1987 indicated the presence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), primarily TCE and 1,1,1-trichloroethane (1,1,1-TCA) in the groundwater underlying