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1. ATSDR > Public Health Assessments & Consultations

PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT

GENERAL MOTORS (CENTRAL FOUNDRY DIVISION)
MASSENA, ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NEW YORK

APPENDIX A: FIGURES

Figure 1. The GM Foundry Study Area

Figure 2. General Site Plan

Figure 3. The St. Regis Mohawk Reserve at Akwesasne

Figure 4. Sediment Samples Analyzed for PCB's; Vicinity of St. Regis Mohawk Reserve

Figure 5. Sediment Samples With PCB Concentrations > 0.0 ppm

Figure 6. Figure for Table 6

APPENDIX B: TABLES

Table 1. Maximum Concentrations (milligrams/kilograms, dry weight) of Chemicals in Soil On-Site (RT 1986) and Public Health Assessment Comparison Values.

^aTotal PCBs
ND - not detected

*Contaminant selected for further evaluation

**References: Clarke et al. (1985); Connor et al. (1985); Dragun (1988); Frank et al. (1976); McGovern (1988); Shacklette and Boerngen (1984)

***Comparison values for cancer and noncancer risk are determined for a 70 kg adult worker who ingests 50 mg soil per day and is exposed 5 days per week for 8 months per year. For evaluating carcinogenic effects, the lifetime average daily dose is calculated by assuming that exposure occurs for 40 working years out of a 70 year lifetime.
EPA CPF - EPA Cancer Potency Factor

****NYS CPF - NYS DOH Cancer Potency Factor
ATSDR MRL - ATSDR Minimal Risk Level
EPA RfD - EPA Risk Reference Dose
EPA HEAST - EPA Health Effects Assessment Summary Table

+Based on reported background levels for total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons of 1 to 13 milligrams per kilogram in soil (ATSDR, 1995a; Edwards, 1983).

Table 1A. Maximum Concentrations (milligrams/kilograms, dry weight) of Chemicals in Lagoon Sludges On-Site (RI 1986).
(Refer to Table 1 for Public Health Assessment Comparison Values)

^aTotal PCBs
ND - not detected

*Contaminant selected for further evaluation

**References: Clarke et al. (1985); Connor et al. (1985); Dragun (1988); Frank et al. (1976); McGovern (1988); Shacklette and Boerngen (1984)

+Based on reported background levels for total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons of <1 to 13 milligrams per kilogram in soil from relatively rural areas of the eastern United States (ATSDR, 1990c; Edwards, 1983).

Table 2. Maximum Concentrations (micrograms per liter) of Chemicals in On-Site Groundwater (RT 1986) and Public Health Assessment Comparison Values for Contaminants Found in Sources of Drinking Water.
[All values in micrograms per liter (mcg/L)]

ND = Not Detected
a = total PCBs
g = guidance value
s = secondary maximum contaminant level (MCL)
^aaUsed oral CPF for benzo(a)pyrene
^ddUsed oral Reference Dose for pyrene
*Contaminant selected for further evaluation
**Comparison values for cancer and noncancer risk are determined for a 70 kg adult who drinks 2 liters of water per day.
***ATSDR MRL = ATSDR Minimal Risk Level
EPA HEAST = EPA Health Effects Assessment Summary Tables
EPA LTHA = EPA Drinking Water Lifetime Health Advisory
NYS DOH CPF = NYS DOH Cancer Potency Factor
EPA CPF = EPA Cancer Potency Factor
EPA RfD = EPA Reference Dose
****There is a maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) of zero for lead and an action level of 15 micrograms per liter at the tap.
++Under review

Table 3. Range of PCB Concentrations in Environmental Media Off-Site and Public Health Assessment Comparison Values for PCBs Found in these Media.

^aaOn GM Property - Not within fenced area - Accessible to public

^bbExcept as noted (see discussion in text)

All data from GM Phase I and Phase II RI/FS except residential well data from NYS DOH GM Massena site files.

ND = Not detected at detection limits
mcg/L - micrograms per liter
mg/kg - milligrams per kilogram
ng/m³ - nanograms per cubic meter (a nanogram is one thousand times smaller than a microgram)

ATSDR MRL = ATSDR Minimal Risk Level
EPA CPF = EPA Cancer Potency Factor

*Contaminant selected for further evaluation
**Comparison value

^aCancer comparison value for PCBs found in surface water is determined for a 70 kg adult whose arms, hands, legs, feet and trunk are exposed to surface water for 1 hour per day, 2 days per week for 3 months per year and who swallows 0.05 liters of surface water per day, 2 days a week for 3 months per year; noncancer comparison value for PCBs is determined for a 21 kg child whose arms, hands, legs, feet and trunk are exposed to surface water for 1 hour per day, 2 days per week for 3 months per year and who swallows 0.05 liters of surface water per day, 2 days a week for 3 months per year.

^bCancer comparison value for PCBs found in soils and sediment is determined for a 70 kg adult who ingests 50 mg soil per day, 2 days per week for 3 months per year; comparison value for noncancer risk is determined for a 21 kg child who ingests 100 mg soil per day, 5 days per week for 6 months per year.

^cCancer and noncancer comparison values for PCBs found in St. Regis Reservation soils are based on ingestion of soil and homegrown vegetables. Comparison value for noncancer risk is determined for a 13.2 kg child who ingests 80 mg soil/day x 5/7 days x 6/12 months + 40 mg/day of indoor dust with an outdoor soil source and 12.6 grams/day of homegrown vegetables and fruits. Comparison values for cancer risk is determined for a 70 kg adult who ingests 82 mg soil/day x 2/7 days x 5/12 months and 21.2 grams/day of homegrown vegetables and fruits.

^dComparison values for cancer and noncancer risk from exposure to PCBs are determined for a 70 kg adult who drinks 2 liters of water per day.

^eComparison values for cancer and noncancer risk from exposure to PCBs are determined for a 70 kg adult who breathes 20 cubic meters of air per day.

Table 4. St. Regis Mohawk Indian Reservation Public Water Supply Sample Results
NYS DOH Department of Health Site File Results.

mcg/L = micrograms per liter
ng/L = nanograms per liter (a nanogram is one thousand times smaller than a microgram)
All results from NYS DOH site files for GM Massena.

Table 5. Summary of PCB Concentrations in Residential Water Supplies.

* - Micrograms per liter
ND - not detected

^a<0.5 ug/l for RMT and <0.05 ug/l for DOH
^bDetection limit not specified
^cSampled in March 1986
^dReported as Aroclor 1254
^eWell no longer in service

These data are indicators of contamination and may or may not be sufficiently high to be a significant health concern.

Table 6. PCB Concentrations in Standard Fillets of Fish Collected From the St. Lawrence River and Tributaries in the Vicinity of General Motors Central Foundry.
[All values in parts per million (ppm)]

Table 7. NYS DOH Summary of DEC Wildlife Pathology Unit Data (Compounds Most Frequently Detected)*.

*Mirex, Heptachlor, and chlordane and trans-nonachlor were not detected (<0.01 ppm, wet weight) unless otherwise indicated.
**Range
¹All animal samples prepared as skinned carcasses (entrails removed), except frogs were not skinned and bird carcasses had entrails, feet, bills and skin removed.
²Heptachlor detected at 0.21 ppm wet basis, 2.0 ppm lipid basis.
³Mirex detected in 1 out of 7 mallard breast skins; concentration = 0.05 ppm (wet weight).
⁴Trans-nonachlor detected in 1 sample at 0.07 ppm.
⁵Mercury was analyzed for 2 samples; mean Hg = 0.72 ppm (0.34-1.1 ppm), wet basis.

- = Not analyzed or information not available.
ND = not detected.
ppm = parts per million

Table 8. Summary of Annual Contaminant Air Emissions and Releases for the Year 1992 from the GM Foundry Site and from Facilities near the Site as Reported in the US EPA Toxic Chemical Release Inventory (TRI) Data Base, St. Lawrence County, New York.

*Distance from GM Foundry is approximately 1 mile.

**Distance from GM Foundry is approximately 7.5 miles.

APPENDIX C: HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY, BREASTMILK STUDY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Executive Summary

Akwesasne is home to approximately 10,000 members of the Mohawk Nation on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border near Massena, New York. The water, land and food (local fish and wildlife) of the Akwesasne Mohawks have been contaminated by industrial chemicals, especially polychlorinated biphenyis (PCBs). PCBs were discharged to surface waters near Akwesasne by the GM Foundry Site (next to Akwesasne) and the Aluminum Corporation of American (ALCOA) and Reynolds Metal Company (Reynolds) aluminum reduction plants (upstream of Akwesasne on the Grasse and St. Lawrence Rivers, respectively). Fish from the St. Lawrence River (which passes through Akwesasne) are also contaminated with other chemicals from industries in the Great Lakes Basin and from industries located near Cornwall on the Canadian side of the St. Lawrence River.

The New York State Department of Health (NYS DOH) estimated Mohawk exposure to several chemical contaminants in fish, wildlife, and human breastmilk, and characterized the health risks from eating these foods. Exposure and risk were also estimated for recreational anglers eating fish from five major New York State (NYS) water bodies.

Contaminant exposures for Mohawk and comparison populations were calculated from their fish and wildlife consumption rates and the concentration of the contaminant in the foods. Mohawk fish and wildlife consumption rates were derived from a 1979-80 dietary survey by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine's Environmental Sciences Laboratory. Fish consumption rates for recreational anglers and contaminant levels in fish in NYS water bodies were based on New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) surveys. In 1985-88, fish and wildlife from the Akwesasne area were collected and analyzed. Contaminant levels in breastmilk of Mohawk women and women living in Warren and Schoharie counties of NYSwere determined from a 1986-90 study by the NYS DOH.

The average Mohawk ate more "sportfish than the average recreational angler and the average American. Mohawks also ate locally-caught duck, goose, pheasant, grouse or muskrat. About 90 percent of the Mohawk population ate fish, whereas less than 30 percent ate duck, goose, pheasant, grouse or muskrat. The greatest exposure to PCB for the Mohawks came from eating fish and wild ducks.

The health risks to Mohawks from the consumption of fish contaminated with PCBs were greater than those to anglers on major NYS water bodies. Mohawk risks were larger primarily because their consumption rates of locally-caught fish were higher and because average PCB levels in St. Lawrence fish were higher than those in fish from some of the other water bodies. Mohawk risk levels also were larger than those calculated for typical Americans who obtain their food from the marketplace.

The results of the NYS DOH breastmilk study and this health risk study confirm the value of the health advisories for fish consumption issued by Mohawk and state authorities. Educational and outreach efforts should continue to advise and inform Mohawks and others about the risks associated with eating contaminated fish and wildlife until contaminant levels, particularly PCBS, decrease.

APPENDIX D: NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH PROCEDURE FOR EVALUATING POTENTIAL HEALTH RISK FOR CONTAMINANTS OF CONCERN

To evaluate the potential health risks from contaminants of concern associated with the General Motors/Central Foundry Division site, the NYS DOH assessed the risks for cancer and noncancer health effects.

Increased cancer risks were estimated by using site-specific information on exposure levels for the contaminant of concern and interpreting them using cancer potency estimates derived for that contaminant by the US EPA or, in some cases, by the NYS DOH. The following qualitative ranking of cancer risk estimates, developed by the NYS DOH, was then used to rank the risk from very low to very high. For example, if the qualitative descriptor was "low", then the excess lifetime cancer risk from that exposure is in the range of greater than one per million to less than one per ten thousand. Other qualitative descriptors are listed below:

An estimated increased excess lifetime cancer risk is not a specific estimate of expected cancers. Rather, it is a plausible upper bound estimate of the probability that a person may develop cancer sometime in his or her lifetime following exposure to that contaminant.

There is insufficient knowledge of cancer mechanisms to decide if there exists a level of exposure to a cancer-causing agent below which there is no risk of getting cancer, namely, a threshold level. Therefore, every exposure, no matter how low, to a cancer-causing compound is assumed to be associated with some increased risk. As the dose of a carcinogen decreases, the chance of developing cancer decreases, but each exposure is accompanied by some increased risk.

There is general consensus among the scientific and regulatory communities on what level of estimated excess cancer risk is acceptable. An increased lifetime cancer risk of one in one million or less is generally considered an insignificant increase in cancer risk.

For noncarcinogenic health risks, the contaminant intake was estimated using exposure assumptions for the site conditions. This dose was then compared to a risk reference dose (estimated daily intake of a chemical that is likely to be without an appreciable risk of health effects) developed by the US EPA, ATSDR and/or NYS DOH. The resulting ratio was then compared to the following qualitative scale of health risk:

Noncarcinogenic effects unlike carcinogenic effects are believed to have a threshold, that is, a dose below which adverse effects will not occur. As a result, the current practice is to identify, usually from animal toxicology experiments, a no-observed-effect-level (NOEL). This is the experimental exposure level in animals at which no adverse toxic effect is observed. The NOEL is then divided by an uncertainty factor to yield the risk reference dose. The uncertainty factor is a number which reflects the degree of uncertainty that exists when experimental animal data are extrapolated to the general human population. The magnitude of the uncertainty factor takes into consideration various factors such as sensitive subpopulations (for example, children or the elderly), extrapolation from animals to humans, and the incompleteness of available data. Thus, the risk reference dose is not expected to cause health effects because it is selected to be much lower than dosages that do not cause adverse health effects in laboratory animals.

The measure used to describe the potential for noncancer health effects to occur in an individual is expressed as a ratio of estimated contaminant intake to the risk reference dose. If exposure to the contaminant exceeds the risk reference dose, there may be concern for potential noncancer health effects because the margin of protection is less than that afforded by the reference dose. As a rule, the greater the ratio of the estimated contaminant intake to the risk reference dose, the greater the level of concern. A ratio equal to or less than one is generally considered an insignificant (minimal) increase in risk.

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