Public Health Activities

ATSDR finds ways that people might be exposed to hazardous substances. These are called "exposure pathways," and ATSDR reports that information to the public.  These reports show how ATSDR finds exposure pathways. Some of the exposure pathways are:   

• Polluted soil  (including children playing in soil and putting their hands in their mouths)
• Polluted groundwater
• Polluted air
• Physical Hazards

ATSDR has released the following two Health Consultations and Fact Sheet for the Gorham Silver site:

• December 4, 2006 - Parcel B (Providence High School) [PDF, 1.16 MB]
• August 11, 2009 - Parcel C (AKA: Former Gorham Site) [PDF, 1.4 MB]

• Fact Sheet - The Gorham Manufacturing Facility Site [PDF, 1.39 MB]

ATSDR is currently analyzing data for Parcel A.

What is a Health Consultation?

A Health Consultation (HC) is done to give advice on a specific public health issue related to real or possible human exposure to hazardous substances. Health Consultations allow ATSDR to respond quickly to a need for information and to recommend actions to protect the public’s health. A health consultation may look for:

• Levels of hazardous substances
• If and how people might be exposed to hazardous substances (through breathing air, drinking water, eating food, or coming into contact with soil)
• What harm the substances might cause to people and whether working or living nearby might affect people’s health