Final release

Prepared by: Site and Radiological Assessment Branch Division of Health Assessment and Consultation Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

A public health assessment (PHA) for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Hanford Site was released for public comment and independent peer review on October 16, 2006. Due to a lack of funding by DOE in fiscal year 2006, we were unable to respond to the comments we did receive on the PHA. A copy of the stakeholder letter sent in December 2005 is also attached at the end of Appendix F.

Ultimately, DOE funding was restored and we were recently able to complete the PHA. If ATSDR receives data or information that would change our conclusion, we will update this evaluation.

ATSDR is aware that the environmental data used to develop the PHA date to 2003. Although this is an unusual situation, ATSDR believes that the public has the right to see how we responded to Community and peer review comments. We hope you find the PHA informative. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, ATSDR, was established by Congress in 1980 under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as the Superfund law. This law set up a fund to identify and clean up hazardous waste sites. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the individual states regulate the investigation and clean up of the sites.

Stephen B. Thacker CDC Library collection