• Home
• About ATSDR
• Press Room
• A-Z Index
• Glossary
• Employment
• Contact Us
• CDC

ATSDR en Español

Search:

Skip directly to: content | left navigation | search

---

Find a Publication

1. ATSDR > Public Health Assessments & Consultations

	Search  |  Index  |  Home  |  Glossary  |  Contact Us

Public Health Assessment

Air Pathway Evaluation

Isla de Vieques Bombing Range
Vieques, Puerto Rico

VI. COMMUNITY HEALTH CONCERNS

An integral part of the public health assessment process is addressing community concerns related to environmental health. Throughout this process, ATSDR has been working with, and will continue to work with, the Vieques community to define specific health issues of concern. On multiple trips to the island, ATSDR has met with numerous individuals and organizations, including local officials, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, leaders of women's groups, teachers, students, fishermen, businessmen, and families. Meeting with community members was critical to identifying and understanding residents' health concerns.

This PHA has addressed four key questions that community members have repeatedly asked about inhalation exposures to contaminants from the Navy's bombing range at Vieques. ATSDR's other PHAs have addressed, or will address, community concerns regarding levels of contamination in other environmental media, including water, soils, and food items. These documents address the main concerns that ATSDR has received since first working on the island of Vieques.

In addition to the four key questions pertaining to air contaminants released from the LIA (see Section V), ATSDR has identified other community concerns that are relevant to the air exposure pathway. These additional concerns are summarized below in three questions, along with ATSDR's responses.

A. Is Water from Rainfall Collection Systems Safe to Drink?

ATSDR Response: The majority of residents on Vieques receive drinking water from the public water supply, which draws from surface water (Rio Blanco) on the main island of Puerto Rico. However, ATSDR has received accounts that some residents obtain drinking water using rainfall collection systems. The exact number of residents with such systems is not known. The following paragraphs address the public health implications of obtain drinking water from these rainfall collection systems.

Rainwater can be a safe and reliable source of drinking water and is used widely for this purpose throughout the Caribbean. However, the method of collecting and treating rainwater determines how safe the water is. Because rooftops are open to the air, a wide range of materials might settle on them. These materials include leaves, mold spores, dead insects, bird droppings, and particulate matter from local sources of air pollution. Some of these materials can contain significant bacterial contamination. Though dusts from the LIA might blow in the air for several miles and then settle on the rooftops in the residential areas of Vieques, analyses in Section V suggest that local sources of air pollution (e.g., motor vehicles) probably account for a majority of particulate matter in these areas.

The following discussion first outlines recommended sanitation practices for obtaining drinking water from rainfall collection systems and then presents ATSDR's specific comments on use of these systems on Vieques.

General Sanitation Practices

When rainwater falls on rooftops, it can wash the various materials that have settled onto the rooftops into the device used to collect the rainwater, usually a cistern or a storage tank. If residents consume the untreated water that first flows from the rooftops, they might be exposed to a wide range of disease-causing bacteria. As evidence of harmful exposures, scientists have suspected that an outbreak of salmonella in the West Indies resulted from residents drinking water from a rooftop collection system that was heavily contaminated with bird feces (Koplan et al. 1978). Many other accounts of diseases caused by water-borne pathogens have been attributed to use of poorly maintained rainfall collection systems. Therefore, consumption of untreated water from rooftop collection systems is not advised.

Various health and environmental agencies have published guidelines for ensuring that rainfall collection systems provide for a safe drinking water supply. Many of these guidelines involve minimal monetary investments to implement. The following suggestions are provided in several references on good sanitation practices for obtaining drinking water (e.g., Salvato 1982, Texas Water Development Board 1997, United Nations Environment Programme 1997):

• The water that initially flows from the rooftop likely contains the greatest amount of chemical and biological contamination, especially if the time between rainfalls is great. This water should be diverted from the water storage tank and should never be consumed. According to a United Nations document, ". . . water captured during the first 10 minutes of rainfall during an event of average intensity is unfit for drinking purposes" (United Nations Environment Programme 1997). Consumption of this water can be avoided by using diversion valves that cause the initial flow of water to bypass the storage tank.
• Some measures should be taken to periodically clean the various surfaces that might come into contact with the rainwater, including the rooftops and cisterns.
• The rainwater that is eventually collected should be filtered before entering the storage tank to remove gross impurities (e.g., leaves, insects). Separating and removing sediments in storage tanks is also recommended, as insoluble contaminants may pass through filters and then settle in the storage tanks. Finally, many agencies advise chemical treatment of collected water, such as chlorination.

By following these and other sanitation practices, residents of Vieques can ensure that drinking water provided by rainfall collection systems is relatively free of contamination, including contaminants from local sources (e.g., birds, insects, motor vehicles), as well as the much smaller quantities of contaminants that might transport from the LIA.

Information Specific to Vieques

Focusing specifically on Vieques, ATSDR has learned that some community members obtain drinking water from rooftop collection systems (Cherry and Ramos 1995), though detailed information on the extent to which this takes place is not available. It is ATSDR's understanding that most residents converted their collection systems into closed tanks that now store water provided by the public water supply, and not by local rainwater. However, some residents may still use rainwater from rainfall collection systems in addition to water from the public water supply. The main community concern about the rainfall collection systems is that dusts from the LIA might settle on rooftops and eventually contaminate the rainwater that is collected.

No sampling studies have been conducted to characterize the quality of water in rainfall collection systems on Vieques. Therefore, no firm conclusions can be drawn based on site-specific sampling data. ATSDR's response to this question addresses the general advantages and disadvantages of using rainfall as a source of drinking water. If good sanitation practices are followed, rainfall collection systems on Vieques are expected to provide clean water that does not pose health hazards.

ATSDR has collected many documents that list recommended sanitation practices for rainfall collection systems. Some of these documents address issues specific to water supplies in the Caribbean. For the residents' benefit, ATSDR has placed copies of two key documents in the records repositories for the Vieques site, which are located at Biblioteca Publica on Vieques, the Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust, and at the University of Puerto Rico School of Public Health.

B. Is Exposure to the Material in African Dust Unhealthy?

ATSDR's Response: The purpose of this PHA is to evaluate the public health implications of exposures to air contamination associated with the Navy's military training activities on Vieques. When evaluating this issue, however, some Vieques residents also expressed concern that "African dust storms" might influence air quality on the island. To be responsive to these concerns, ATSDR researched the potential impacts of these dust storms and reached the conclusions summarized below.

Public Health Implications of African Dust Storms

As Section III.E explains, many researchers have studied African dust storms, or events in which strong winds blow large amounts of dust from arid northern Africa soils into the air. Some dust clouds have been observed thousands of miles from Africa, including over areas in the Caribbean and the southeastern United States. ATSDR emphasizes that the presence of dust particles in the air does not imply that unhealthy exposures occur. The public health implications of the African dust storms depend on other factors, such as the amount of dust in the air, the duration of the storms, and the relative amounts of chemical and biological contaminants in these dusts.

Regarding the amount of dust in the air, authors of key studies on African dust storms have doubted that the levels of dust alone would exceed EPA's health-based standards for particulate matter (Prospero 1999a). However, they have hypothesized that the amount of African dust in the air, when added to particulate matter from local sources of air pollution, might lead to unhealthy levels of air pollution. This hypothesis has never been verified for Vieques. In fact, none of the particulate sampling studies conducted on Vieques (see Appendix C) have ever shown potentially unhealthy levels of particulate matter, as gauged by EPA's health-based National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Moreover, the historical record of particulate sampling along the eastern shore of the main island of Puerto Rico reveals a similar trend (see Appendix C). These consistent trends among the sampling studies suggest that levels of particulate matter on Vieques have not reached levels that could present a public health hazard, even during African dust storms. This finding should be verified by ongoing review of sampling data collected on the island.

Unfortunately, less information is available on the chemical and biological makeup of dust particles during these African dust storm events. ATSDR has identified studies indicating that the dust particles contain various minerals, and even traces of bacteria and viruses (Griffin et al. 2001). These studies have speculated about potential public health impacts, but no link between adverse health effects and the components of African dust has been established. ATSDR believes its recommendation for sampling of airborne metals (see Section IX) will address the data gap on the mineral content of African dust, and ATSDR supports further research into the type and amounts of biological material (e.g., bacteria, viruses) that may be transported with African dust.

Relative Amounts of Particulate Matter from African Dust Storms and from the LIA

Some community members have asked ATSDR to explain how it is possible that two different sources of air pollution located thousands of miles apart (i.e., the LIA and Africa) can have similar impacts on air quality at Vieques. The key to understanding this issue is that the LIA and African dust storms release dramatically different quantities of particulate matter.

Though emissions from both sources cannot be measured directly, emissions estimates suggest that African dust storms release far more particulate matter to the air than the Navy's military training exercises. Specifically, the Navy has estimated that its operations at Vieques release 70 tons of PM10 to the air per year (IT 2000). On the other hand, researchers have estimated that African dust storms release between 100,000,000 and 1,000,000,000 tons of particulate matter to the air per year (Shinn et al. 2000). Assuming the emissions estimates quoted above are reasonably accurate, the data suggest that African dust storms may release more than 1,000,000 times as much particulate matter as does the LIA.

Therefore, even though the source of African dust is several thousand miles away from Vieques, the fact that African dust storms release dramatically higher levels of particulate matter explains why they can have noticeable impacts on air quality in the Caribbean, even when local sources of air pollution (e.g., the Navy's military training exercises) might have little air quality impacts at distances as short as 7.9 miles from the source.

C. Can ATSDR Provide General Information on Asthma and Air Pollution?

ATSDR's Response: Asthma is a common, and potentially deadly, chronic (or long-term) lung disease. A person with asthma might suffer from "asthma attacks." These attacks can vary in frequency and severity. Some people with asthma have attacks often, while others have them rarely. Less severe asthma attacks result in difficultly breathing, tightness in the chest, coughing, and wheezing. More severe asthma attacks can be life-threatening if a person stops breathing. As a result, it is very important for a person with asthma to get help from a doctor to manage the disease. This is especially important for children with asthma, who have been found to be a sensitive sub-population for acute responses to outdoor air pollution (Clark et al. 1999).

No one has determined exactly what causes some people to have asthma and other people to not have the disease. However, scientists have identified many "asthma triggers" that are known to cause people with asthma to have asthma attacks. Different people are affected by different asthma triggers, and a doctor can help determine which asthma triggers appear to be a problem for a given person. The following list identifies some (but not all) of the known or suspected asthma triggers:

• Indoor air contaminants: mold, tobacco smoke, household chemicals, dust, and allergens from pets and insects.
• Outdoor air contaminants: particulate matter, pollen, and ozone.
• Other factors: sinus infections, certain medications, and food additives.

Though outdoor air pollution can trigger asthma attacks, the extent to which outdoor air pollution causes people to have asthma in the first place is unclear. As evidence of this, asthma occurs in areas with relatively low levels of air pollution. Further research is needed to understand to what extent outdoor air pollution affects whether or not a given person has asthma.

ATSDR notes that its review of outdoor air pollution on Vieques was based in part on EPA's health-based National Ambient Air Quality Standards. EPA developed these standards to protect public health, including the health of potentially sensitive populations, like asthmatics. Therefore, ATSDR's analyses found that levels of particulate matter on Vieques do not present a public health hazard, even for people who have asthma. However, ATSDR acknowledges that some asthmatics with extreme sensitivities might have attacks triggered by low levels of pollution. Recognizing that asthma is potentially serious and needs to be treated correctly, ATSDR urges all individuals with asthma–on Vieques and elsewhere in Puerto Rico and the United States–to work with a doctor to set up an asthma management plan. Following such a plan can help keep asthma under control.

Other Community Concerns:

ATSDR is committed to addressing additional community concerns relevant to environmental health issues, as these concerns arise. Vieques residents can direct their health concerns to ATSDR either in writing or via the telephone. Please submit written questions and inquiries to:

Program Evaluation, Records and Information Services Branch
ATSDR, Division of Health Assessment and Consultation
Attn: Isla de Vieques, Puerto Rico
1600 Clifton Road, NE (E-32)
Atlanta, GA 30333

Community members can also call ATSDR either by contacting our regional representatives in New York, New York, at (212) 637-4307 or by calling our toll-free telephone number, 1-888-42-ATSDR (or 1-888-422-8737).

VII. ATSDR CHILD HEALTH INITIATIVE

Because children often are at greater risk than adults for being exposed to toxic chemicals, and because more than 10% of the residential population at Vieques is children (age 6 and under), ATSDR's exposure and public health evaluations for this site specifically considered children's health issues. In general, children are more likely than adults to suffer from adverse health effects due to environmental exposure for several reasons, such as:

• Children's developing bodies can be particularly sensitive to toxic exposure during certain critical growth stages, especially when children are exposed to chemicals known to cause developmental effects (e.g., lead).
• Children weigh less than adults. As a result, when children and adults ingest or inhale the same amount of chemicals, children receive a greater dose (on a pound of contaminant per pound of body weight basis) than adults. For many chemicals, this higher dose causes a greater likelihood for developing adverse health effects.
• Because children play outdoors more than adults, they are often more likely to come into contact with contaminated soils and to inhale greater amounts of airborne pollutants.

For these reasons, ATSDR specifically considered children's health issues in two critical steps of the public health assessment process. First, when comparing levels of air pollution to health-based comparison values (e.g., see Table 4), ATSDR identified comparison values that are protective of children's exposures and of health conditions more common in children (e.g., asthma), to the extent they are available. For instance, ATSDR used EPA's air quality standards for particulate matter and lead when evaluating the air sampling data on Vieques. These standards were developed to protect the health of sensitive populations, including children.

Second, when evaluating scenarios with ambient air concentrations that exceeded or were near to health-based comparison values, ATSDR's toxicological evaluations considered the most current information on health hazards associated with exposures, usually as documented in the "Children's Susceptibility" section of ATSDR's Toxicological Profiles.

With this approach, ATSDR ensured that its review of environmental health issues would consider any specific children's health issues at Vieques. Although ATSDR found that children on Vieques are exposed to environmental contamination from many different sources, the levels of inhalation exposures are far too low to cause adverse health effects. In other words, ATSDR's evaluations found no evidence that chemicals released from the Navy's military training exercises pose any unique health hazards for children. Nonetheless, as a prudent public health measure, ATSDR recommends that air sampling continue to take place at Vieques to ensure that exposures that might present a public health hazard do not occur among the population, including children. Section IX of this report provides more details on this recommendation.

VIII. CONCLUSIONS

This PHA evaluates potential inhalation exposures to air contaminants released from the Navy property on Vieques. ATSDR has been examining, and continues to examine, potential exposures to contamination from other environmental media (e.g., drinking water, soil, and food products). After completing its evaluations, ATSDR will assess the public health implications of the cumulative or overall exposures from the other potential pathways the agency has considered.

For the air exposure pathway, ATSDR concludes the following:

• As of the writing of this report, more than 400 valid air samples have been collected on Vieques on days when bombing exercises did not take place. All samples have shown that levels of particulate matter are much lower than health-based air quality standards. Thus, wind-blown dust from the LIA is not a health hazard on days without military training exercises.
• Military training exercises using practice bombs release various contaminants to the air, but the available sampling data indicate that ambient air concentrations of particulate matter, metals, and explosives did not reach levels that present a public health hazard.
• The past military training exercises involving live bombs released many contaminants to the air, but most dispersed to extremely low concentrations over the 7.9 miles that separate the center of the LIA from the nearest residential areas of Vieques. ATSDR's best estimates of ambient air concentrations suggest that past exposures during the live bombing exercises were at levels below those associated with adverse health effects. This conclusion is based entirely on modeling results and therefore involves some uncertainty, though ATSDR believes its approach to evaluating the live bombing exercises provides a reasonable account of past exposures.
• Though open burning and open detonation operations to treat unused munitions and unexploded ordnance have undoubtedly released contaminants to the air, these operations account for a small fraction (<10%) of the high explosives that were previously detonated during military training exercises using live bombs. ATSDR's modeling analysis indicate that emissions from the open burning and open detonation operations do not cause levels of pollution that could present a public health hazard in the residential areas of Vieques.
• Residents of Vieques are not exposed to levels of environmental contamination that could present a public health hazard, whether chemical or radiological, as a result of the Navy's limited past use of depleted uranium penetrators during military training exercises. Further, no adverse health effects are expected to result from the Navy's usage of chaff, because this material disperses considerably between the time it is released (several thousand feet above sea level) and the time it settles to the ground.
• Overall, ATSDR found that the residents of Vieques have been exposed to contaminants released during the Navy's military training exercises, but these exposures are far lower than levels known to be associated with adverse health effects. As a result, ATSDR finds that the air exposure pathway at Vieques presents no apparent public health hazard.

Aware of the level of community health concerns at Vieques, ATSDR is committed to reviewing additional air sampling data and health outcome data as they become available. The Public Health Action Plan (Section IX) outlines future actions that various agencies will take to evaluate environmental health issues at Vieques.

IX. PUBLIC HEALTH ACTION PLAN

The Public Health Action Plan for Vieques describes specific actions that have been taken, are scheduled to take place, or should be taken by numerous parties, including ATSDR, EPA, PREQB, PRDOH, and the Navy. The purpose of this Public Health Action Plan is to ensure that this PHA not only identifies potential public health hazards, but also produces a plan of action to mitigate and prevent harmful human health effects that may be resulting from exposure to hazardous substances in the environment. The following list identifies the public health actions that have been completed, that are ongoing, and that ATSDR recommends take place:

Actions Completed:

• Ambient air sampling has been conducted by various parties, including ATSDR, PREQB, and the Navy.
• In August 1999, ATSDR conducted its initial site visit to Vieques to meet with the petitioner, to tour the island and the bombing range, and to gather available environmental data. ATSDR accepted the resident's petition and initiated the PHA process.
• In September 2000, ATSDR met with various agencies, including PRDOH, PREQB, EPA, and the Navy to gather data and to discuss the scope and nature of ATSDR's health assessment activities. ATSDR also toured various sites on Vieques with the petitioner.
• In June and October 2000, ATSDR discussed public health concerns with local health care providers and provided training about how to medically assess environmental exposures. During these visits, ATSDR also met with numerous residents to discuss health concerns.
• In February 2001, ATSDR released the public comment version of the Public Health Assessment for the Drinking Water Supplies and Groundwater Pathway Evaluation. In March 2001, ATSDR held a public availability session to meet individually with community members to discuss the findings of this document. In October 2001, ATSDR released the final version of this PHA.
• In July 2001, ATSDR, the Ponce School of Medicine, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sponsored an expert review panel to address whether an association existed between place of residence (Vieques or Ponce Playa) and morphological cardiovascular changes among fishermen. In October 2001, ATSDR released a report summarizing this expert panel review.
• In September 2001, ATSDR conducted additional community involvement activities to inform participants of the scope of ATSDR investigations and to seek additional community input. Continuing education on public health training was offered to nurses on Vieques and environmental health instruction was provided to parents and high school students.
• In February 2003, ATSDR released its final version of the Public Health Assessment for the Soil Pathway Evaluation.
• In June 2003, ATSDR released its final version of the Public Health Assessment for the Fish and Shellfish Evaluation.

Actions Ongoing:

• ATSDR is continuing to meet with various community members and organizations to receive concerns and exchange information. This effort will continue throughout the public health assessment process.
• ATSDR is continuing to meet with local health care providers to discuss health concerns for the community and to provide educational materials for addressing the community's health needs.
• PRDOH is updating its cancer registries for all of Puerto Rico, and specifically for Vieques, by gathering and documenting information on the incidence of cancer. ATSDR does not know when these updates will be completed.

Recommendations for Further Action:

Note: ATSDR's public comment release PHA included several recommendations for further air sampling at Vieques. Since the Navy officially ceased its training exercises on May 1, 2003, ATSDR believes these sampling studies are no longer necessary. The following items list the remaining recommendations that ATSDR believes should be fulfilled.

• ATSDR recommends that any residents using rainfall collection systems for a drinking water supply read the documents that ATSDR has placed in the records repositories regarding good sanitation practices for harvesting rain water. These good sanitation practices will help ensure that water obtained from these systems is safe to drink and relatively free of contamination from all local sources.
• ATSDR plans to review cancer registry information and data gathered by PRDOH. This review will consider the data documented in ATSDR's PHAs and will evaluate the general health status of the communities on Vieques. ATSDR's review will follow the official release of PRDOH's review of the cancer registries, but it is not known when this will occur.
• If future data are collected that suggest that a modification of ATSDR's public health evaluations, and if requested, ATSDR will periodically review air sampling data that PREQB and other parties collect at Vieques, as these data become available.
• After completing the pathway-specific PHAs, ATSDR will prepare a brief summary of environmental health issues for Vieques.

PREPARERS OF REPORT

Gary Campbell, Ph.D.
Environmental Health Scientist, Section Chief
Federal Facilities Assessment Branch
Division of Health Assessment and Consultation

W. Mark Weber, Ph.D.
Geologist
Federal Facilities Assessment Branch
Division of Health Assessment and Consultation

Gregory M. Zarus, MS
Atmospheric Scientist
Exposure Investigation and Consultation Branch
Division of Health Assessment and Consultation

John Wilhelmi, MS
Senior Chemical Engineer
Eastern Research Group, Inc.

REFERENCES

Army Research Laboratory. 2000. COMBIC, Combined Obscuration Model for Battlefield Induced Contaminants. August 2000.

ATSDR. 1999a. Toxicological Profile for Uranium. September 1999.

ATSDR. 1999b. Toxicological Profile for Ionizing Radiation. September 1999.

ATSDR. 1999c. Toxicological Profile for Aluminum. July 1999.

ATSDR. 2000a. Toxicological Profile for Arsenic. September 2000.

ATSDR. 2000b. Toxicological Profile for Chromium. September 2000.

ATSDR. 2001a. Focused Petitioned Public Health Assessment: Drinking Water Supplies and Groundwater Pathway Evaluation. October 16, 2001.

ATSDR. 2001b. Petitioned Public Health Assessment: Soil Pathway Evaluation. Public Comment draft. October 23, 2001.

ATSDR. 2001c. Summary Report for the Vieques Heart Study Expert Panel Review. October 2001.

ATSDR. 2001d. Letter to Gladys Gonzalez Martinez (PREQB) from Sandy Isaacs (ATSDR) concerning access to air sampling data for metals. December 19, 2001.

ATSDR. 2001e. Letter to Roberto Rabin (Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques) from Sandy Isaacs (ATSDR) concerning access to sampling data for radiation. December 19, 2001.

ATSDR. 2002. Air Comparison Values. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. April 2002.

ATSDR. 2003a. Petitioned Public Health Assessment: Soil Pathway Evaluation. Final Release. February 7, 2003.

ATSDR. 2003b. Petitioned Public Health Assessment: Fish and Shellfish Evaluation. Final Release. June 27, 2003.

Ballingrud, D. 2000. What's in the Wind. St. Petersburg Times. September 5, 2000.

Bjorklund et al. 1998. Open Burn/Open Detonation Dispersion Model (OBODM) User's Guide. JR Bjorklund, JF Bowers, GC Dodd, JM White. HE Cramer Company, Inc. April 1998.

CH2MHILL and Baker Environmental, Inc. (Baker). 1999. Results of the hydrogeologic investigation: Vieques Island, Puerto Rico; November 4, 1999.

Cherry GS and Ramos J. 1995. Water wells on Isla de Vieques, Puerto Rico. US Geological Survey, Open-file report 95-368. San Juan, Puerto Rico: 1995.

Clark NM, Brown RW, Parker E, Robbins TG, Remick DG, Philbert MA, Keeler GJ, Israel BA. 1999. Childhood Asthma. Environmental Health Perspectives, 107 (Supplement 3):421-429.

Cooper, P.W. 996. Explosives Engineering. Paul W. Cooper. Wiley-VCH publishers. 1996.

CRDV. 2001. Dramatic Increase in Radiation in Vieques. Press Release from the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques (CRDV). November 9, 2001.

Cruz Pérez. 2000. Contaminación Producida por Explosivos y Residuos de Explosivos en Vieques, Puerto Rico. Ing. Rafael Cruz Pérez. Dimension magazine, 2: 11-18. June 2000.

Defense Nuclear Agency. 1981. High-Explosive Field Tests: Explosion Phenomena and Environmental Impacts. Prepared for the Defense Nuclear Agency. October 1, 1981.

Department of the Navy (Navy), Atlantic Division. 1990. Water quality study at the U.S. Atlantic Fleet Weapons Training Facility, Vieques Island, Puerto Rico: September 1990.

EPA. 1985. Rapid Assessment of Exposure to Particulate Emissions from Surface Contamination Sites. US Environmental Protection Agency. EPA/600/8-85/002. February 1985.

EPA. 1986. INPUFF 2.0 - A Multiple Source Gaussian Puff Dispersion Algorithm. User's Guide (abbreviated). US Environmental Protection Agency. EPA-600/8-86/024. August 1986.

EPA. 1996. Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter. US Environmental Protection Agency, National Center for Environmental Assessment. EPA/600/P-95/001aF. April 1996.

EPA. 1997. 1987-1995 Toxics Release Inventory. CD-ROM Quick Reference Guide. US Environmental Protection Agency. EPA 749-C-97-003. August, 1997.

EPA. 1999. Interview with Engineer Rafael Cruz Pérez, P.E., on the Contamination of Drinking Water by Explosives in Vieques, P.R. Interview conducted by Jorge Martinez, P.E., EPA. August 4, 1999.

EPA. 2001. Data downloaded from US Environmental Protection Agency's "TRI Explorer, version 3.1" Web site (www.epa.gov/triexplorer ). Site last accessed: July, 2001.

EPA. 2002. Ambient air monitoring data accessed from AIRS. Written correspondence between Virginia Ambrose (EPA) and John Wilhelmi (ERG). July 15, 2002.

ERG. 2001. Vieques Air Monitoring Program. Eastern Research Group, Inc. December. 2001.

Fellowship of Reconciliation. 2001. Vieques Issue Brief: Environmental Impacts of Navy Training. November 2001.

GAO. 1998. DoD Management Issues Related to Chaff. Government Accounting Office. September 1998.

Griffin DW, VH Garrison, JR Herman, EA Shinn. 2001. African Desert Dust in the Caribbean Atmosphere: Microbiology and Public Health. Aerobiologia 17(3), 203-213. September 2001.

Halliburton NUS. 1995. Air Pathway Screening Assessments for Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Subpart X Permitting. Halliburton NUS Corporation. May 15, 1995.

Hanna, S. 2001. ATSDR Review of Air Quality Modeling Studies. Dr. Steven Hanna. October 12, 2001.

Higgins, G. 2001. Written communication between Gary Higgins (Navy) and Mark Weber (ATSDR). September 17, 2001.

IT Corporation (IT). 2000. Atlantic Division Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Air dispersion modeling and related analyses for Inner Range operations, Vieques, Puerto Rico. Knoxville, TN: February 2000.

IT Corporation (IT). 2001. Revisions to "Air Dispersion Modeling and Related Analyses for Inner Range Operations, Vieques, Puerto Rico." Revision 1. May 2001.

Koplan JP, Deen RD, Swanston WH, Tota B. 1978. Contaminated roof-collected rainwater as a possible cause of an outbreak of samlonellosis. J Hyg (Lond), 81(2):303-309. October 1978.

Lugo-López, Bonnet, García. 1953. The Soils of the Island of Vieques. Bulletin 108, University of Puerto Rico, Agricultural Experiment Station. March 1953.

Moulin, C, C.E. Lambert, F Dulac, U Dayan. 1997. Control of Atmospheric Export of Dust from North Africa by the North Atlantic Oscillation. Nature 387, 691-694.

National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). 1994. Annual Climatological Summary for Vieques Island, Puerto Rico: May 1985 through January 1994.

National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). 2001. Meteorological data compiled for US Naval Air Station Roosevelt Roads, 1990 to 2000. Electronic transmittal from NCDC on July 18, 2001.

Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NFEC). 2000. Environmental Assessment for Transfer of the Naval Ammunition Support Detachment Property, Vieques, Puerto Rico. November 2000.

Naval Research Laboratory. 1999. Environmental Effects of RF Chaff: A Select Panel Report to the Undersecretary of Defense for Environmental Security. August 31, 1999.

Navy. 1971. Joint Staff Study of Vieques. March 1971.

Navy. 1977. Atlantic Fleet Weapons Training Facility. Inner Range Utilization, Culebra and Vieques: FY-69 thru FY-76. November 2, 1977.

Navy. 1990. Water Quality Study at the U.S. Atlantic Fleet Weapons Training Facility. Vieques Island, Puerto Rico. Department of the Navy, Atlantic Division Naval Facilities Engineering Command. September 1990.

Navy. 1994. Naval Radioactive Materials Permit. NRMP #13-00164-L1NP, Amendment 2. August 1994.

Navy. 1999. The National Security Need for Vieques. A study prepared for The Secretary of the Navy. July 15, 1999.

Navy. 2001. Installation Restoration Program: Community Fact Sheet. U.S. Naval Ammunition Support Detachment, Vieques Island, Puerto Rico. Issue Number 2. April, 2001.

Navy. 2002. VQ Range Statistics - Summary Report. Daily range utilization statistical summaries.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). 2000a. Letter from Luis A. Reyes to Carmen Feliciano Melecio concerning presence of depleted uranium on Vieques. Atlanta, GA: February 1, 2000.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). 2000b. Environmental Survey Inspection Report, Vieques Island, Puerto Rico: September 28, 2000.

Presidential Directives I and II. 2000. Resolutions regarding the use of range facilities on Vieques, Puerto Rico. 65 FR 5727-5731.

Prospero, JM. 1999a. Assessing the Impact of Advected African Dust on Air Quality and Health in the Eastern United States, Human and Health Risk Assessment: 5:471-479.

Prospero, JM. 1999b. Long-range Transport of Mineral Dust in Global Atmosphere: Impact of African Dust on the Environment of the Southeastern United States. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 96: 3396-3403. March 1999.

Rabin. 2001. Vieques: Five Centuries of Struggle and Resistance. R. Rabin, Archivo Histórico de Vieques. Article last accessed from www.viequeslibre.org on October 1, 2001.

Radian. 1996. Burro Canyon Open Burn/Open Detonation Health Risk Assessment. Prepared by Radian International LLC. Prepared for Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake. July 11, 1996.

JA Salvato. 1982. Environmental Engineering and Sanitation. Joseph Salvato. John Wiley & Sons. 1982.

Servicios Científicos and Técnicos, Inc. (SCI). 2000. Environmental Impact of Navy Activities in Vieques. Dr. Neftalí Garcia, Ana M. López, Mariela Soto, Shereeza Rosado, and Brenda Berríos. July 11, 2000.

EA Shinn, GW Smith, JM Propsero, P Betzer, ML Hayes, V Garrison, RT Barber. African Dust and the Demise of Caribbean Coral Reefs. Geophysical Research Letters, 27(19):3029-3032. October 1, 2000.

TAMS. 1979. Draft Environmental Impact Statement: Continued Use of the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Training Facility Inner Range (Vieques). TAMS Consultants. December 1979.

Taylor D. 2002. Dust in the Wind. Environmental Health Perspectives 110(2):A80-A87.

Texas Water Development Board. 1997. Texas Guide to Rainwater Harvesting. 1997.

Torres-Gonzalez S. 1989. Reconnaissance of the ground-water resources of Vieques Island, Puerto Rico. U.S. Geological Survey, Report 86-4100. San Juan, Puerto Rico: 1989.

Trinity Consultants. 2002. CALPUFF Air Dispersion Modeling Report: Vieques, Puerto Rico. June, 2002.

United Nations Environment Programme. 1997. Source Book of Alternative Technologies for Freshwater Augmentation in Latin America and the Caribbean. 1997.

United Nations Environment Programme. 1999. The potential effects on human health and the environment arising from possible use of depleted uranium during the 1999 Kosovo conflict. A preliminary assessment. United Nations Environmental Programme and the UNCHS Balkans Task Force. October, 1999.

US Bureau of the Census. 1990. Census of Population and Housing:  Summary Tape File. U.S. Department of Commerce. 1990.

US Bureau of the Census. 2000. Census of Population and Housing:  Summary Tape File. U.S. Department of Commerce. 2000.

US Geological Survey (USGS). 2000. African Dust Causes Widespread Environmental Distress. April 2000. Available from URL: http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/african_dust/ .

ViequesLibre. 2001. Web site: www.viequeslibre.com . Last accessed, June 28, 2001.

ViequesWar. 2001. Web site: www.geocities.com/viequeswar . Last accessed, June 28, 2001.

Young, GA. 1978. Environmental dispersion of the products of explosions of conventional ordnance at Vieques Island, Naval Surface Weapons Center: August 28, 1978.

TABLES

Table 1. 1990 and 2000 US Census Data for Vieques

Sources of data: US Bureau of the Census 1990, 2000.

Notes:
According to the 1990 census data, 2,056 families lived on Vieques. In 2000, this number increased to 2,366.
Both the 1990 and 2000 census data include residents living on Navy lands and in the residential area.

Definitions:
Women between the ages of 15 and 44 are considered of childbearing age.
Children are residents who are 6 years old or younger.
The elderly includes all residents of age 65 and older.

Table 2. Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Data for Vieques

Source of data: EPA 1997, 2001.

Notes:
- The table lists only the air releases that facilities in Vieques reported to TRI.
- For reporting years 1987 through 1995, the "name of facility" is taken from one source of data (EPA 1997); for reporting years 1996 through 1999, it is from another (EPA 2001). Release data for more current years are not yet publicly available.
- TRI data are self-reported; the accuracy of the release data for individual facilities is not known.
- The TRI regulations require facilities in certain industries to disclose releases of specific hazardous chemicals and selected waste management activities. However, the regulations do not require that all facilities report, and do not address all contaminants, which is presumably why the table does not account for other emissions sources on Vieques. Therefore, the data in this table should not be viewed as a comprehensive emissions inventory for Vieques.
- Releases of zero pounds suggest that the facility manufactured, processed, or otherwise used the chemical in large enough quantities to trigger TRI reporting, but none (or less than 0.5 pounds per year) were estimated as being released to the air.

Table 3. Summary of Air Exposure Pathways

Note: Indirect exposures to air contaminants in other media (groundwater, soil, biota) are being addressed in other PHAs.

Table 4. Estimates of Annual Average Ambient Air Concentrations of Metals on Vieques When Military Training Exercises Do Not Take Place

Notes:
- The "average concentration of element in LIA surface soils" is taken from ATSDR's previous analysis of soils contamination (ATSDR 2001b).
- The "estimated annual average air concentration of element in PM10" is the product of the values in the first two columns.
- The "estimated annual average air concentration of element in PM10" was calculated by multiplying the annual average air concentration of PM10 in Esperanza (34.1 µg/m3, see Appendix C.1) and the average concentration of the element in LIA soils. This product was divided by 1,000,000 to convert the estimated concentration into units of µg/m3.
- The "type of comparison value" indicates the reference for the comparison value selected (see Appendix A). Abbreviations used in this field are:
    CREG: ATSDR cancer risk evaluation guide
    EMEG-c: ATSDR environmental media evaluation guide for chronic exposure
    MRL: ATSDR Minimal Risk Level
    NAAQS: EPA National Ambient Air Quality Standard
    RBC-n: EPA Region 3 risk-based concentration for noncancer effects
- NA: Scandium, yttrium, and zirconium do not have relevant health-based comparison values.
- The comparison value for "chromium" is for trivalent chromium, not hexavalent chromium. See Section V.A for an interpretation of this selection.

Table 5. Estimates of Annual Average Ambient Air Concentrations of Explosives on Vieques When Military Training Exercises Do Not Take Place

Notes:
- The "average PM10 concentration at Esperanza" is based on the PREQB 2000-2002 sampling results (see Appendix C.1).
- The "average concentration of chemical in the LIA soils (ppm, by weight)" is the average concentration of explosives in soil samples collected at the LIA reported in the PHA on soil contamination (ATSDR 2001b).
- The "estimated annual average air concentration of chemical in PM10" is the product of the values in the first two columns.
- The "health-based comparison value" is a toxicity screening value (see Section IV.B and Appendix A for more details).
- The "type of comparison value" indicates the reference for the comparison value selected (see Appendix A). Abbreviations used in this field are:
    RBC-c: EPA Region 3 risk-based concentration for cancer effects
    RBC-n: EPA Region 3 risk-based concentration for noncancer effects

Table 6. Ambient Air Concentrations of Particulate Matter in the Residential Areas of Vieques

Notes:
- Data Source: See Appendix C.1. The data in the table are based on sampling data and range utilization statistics compiled through October 2001. Refer to Table C-1 for a complete account of the sampling results collected since that time.
- Dates with "exercises using only practice bombs" were determined from Navy range utilization statistics. Dates on which air-to-ground or ship-to-shore firing of "non-explosive ordnance" were considered as being exercises using only practice bombs.
- ATSDR ran t-tests to determine if statistically significant differences existed between the average concentrations listed above. These tests revealed that the differences in TSP levels at Esperanza and Isabel Segunda and the differences in PM10 levels at Esperanza were not statistically significant (p-level > 0.05). At Isabel Segunda, the average PM10 concentration during training exercises using practice bombs was greater than the average concentration when no practice bombs were used (p = 0.0005).

Table 7. Correlation Between Weight of Bombs Dropped and Air Sampling Results

Notes:
- Data on weight of practice bombs dropped are taken from the Navy's range utilization statistics (Navy 2002); air sampling data were provided by PREQB (see Appendix C.1). Total weight of non-explosive ordnance used equals the sum of the amounts used for air-to-ground and ship-to-shore exercises. The data in the table are based on sampling data and range utilization statistics compiled through October 2001. Refer to Table C-1 for a complete account of the sampling results collected since that time.
- "No sample" indicates that PREQB did not report a valid sampling result for the pollutant, date, and location indicated.
- The weight of practice bombs dropped on the LIA was essentially uncorrelated with the TSP concentrations at Esperanza (R² = 0.000), the TSP concentrations at Isabel Segunda (R² = 0.011), the PM10 concentrations at Esperanza (R² = 0.002), and the PM10 concentrations at Isabel Segunda (R² = 0.000).
- Data are presented for only those days when practice bombs were dropped and valid air sampling results were available. Practice bombs were dropped on additional dates not shown in the table, but no valid sampling results were collected on those days.

Table 8. Estimated Annual Average Concentrations of Chemical By-products of Explosions in the Residential Areas of Vieques that Resulted from Live Bombing Exercises

Notes:
- All estimated annual average ambient air concentrations are based on outputs from ATSDR's air quality modeling analysis (see Appendix D.3). The concentrations listed are the highest estimated levels in the residential areas of Vieques.
- Refer to Appendix D.3 for estimated ambient air concentrations for the 11 chemicals considered in the modeling analysis that do not have health-based comparison values. Estimated concentrations of these chemicals are all considerably lower than levels that air sampling methods can reliably detect.
- Refer to Appendix A for explanations of the abbreviations used to describe the comparison values.

Table 9. Estimated Annual Average Concentrations of Metals in the Residential Areas of Vieques that Resulted from Live Bombing Exercises

Notes:
- All estimated annual average ambient air concentrations are based on outputs from ATSDR's air quality modeling analysis (see Appendix D.3). The concentrations listed are the highest estimated levels in the residential areas of Vieques.
- Refer to Appendix D.3 for estimated ambient air concentrations for the metals considered in the modeling analysis that do not have health-based comparison values (e.g., calcium). Estimated levels of these chemicals are all considerably lower than air sampling methods can reliably detect.
- Refer to Appendix A for explanations of the abbreviations used to describe the comparison values.

FIGURES

Figure 1. Map of Vieques Vicinity

Figure 2. Map of Vieques

Figure 3. Wind Rose for US Naval Station Roosevelt Roads: 1990-2000

Figure 4. Navy Bombing Statistics I

Figure 5. Navy Bombing Statistics II

Figure 6. Air Sampling Locations on Vieques

Figure 7. What Happens When Practice Bombs Are Dropped

Figure 8. What Happens When Live Bombs Are Dropped

Figure 9. Effect of Live Bombing Exercises on Annual Average PM10 Concentrations on Vieques

Next Section     Table of Contents

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 1825 Century Blvd, Atlanta, GA 30345
Contact CDC: 800-232-4636 / TTY: 888-232-6348 

Department of Health and Human Services