Michigan Department of Community Health Evaluates Three Toxic Wa

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

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SOURCE: Michigan Department of Community Health

Michigan Department of Community Health Evaluates Three Toxic Waste Sites

LANSING, Mich., April 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Because of elevated radiation
levels, Benton Harbor area residents are cautioned to stay out of the
D&L Sales warehouse in Benton Harbor, according to a Public Health
Assessment released today by the Michigan Department of Community
Health (MDCH). The elevated radiation levels are attributed to the
large number of World War II- era aircraft instruments with
radium-painted luminous dials stored there. 

The Public Health Assessment also addressed the H&K Sales warehouse in
Belding, where radium-painted dials had also been stored, and a third
location near the village of Bear Lake, where radium-painted dials
were repaired. The Belding warehouse and Bear Lake locations have been
cleaned up by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and
declared safe for unrestricted use by the Michigan Department of
Environmental Quality (MDEQ). The clean-up at the Belding warehouse
was completed after the Public Health Assessment went to press. The
Public Health Assessment is an updated revision of the draft Public
Health Assessment for the sites MDCH released for public comment on
January 22, 1997. 

Workers and trespassers in the Benton Harbor warehouse might be
exposed to radiation that has the potential of causing human health
concern, according to the assessment. The family at the Bear Lake
property was exposed to radiation that presented a serious health
concern. The assessment originally had recommended continuing
restriction of access to the two warehouses, but since the clean-up at
the H&K Sales site in Belding this restriction applies only to the
Benton Harbor site. 

The assessment also advised that the agencies involved continue
offering radiological evaluation to individuals thought to have
received significant exposure to radiation. 

Copies of the Public Health Assessment are available at the Benton
Harbor Public Library, the Arvah N. Belding Library, the Bear
Lake/Pleasanton Branch of the Manistee County Library, the Berrien
County Health Department offices in Benton Harbor, the Ionia County
Health Department offices in Ionia, and the Manistee-Mason District
Health Department offices in Manistee for review. 

Information and comments should be addressed to the Michigan
Department of Community Health, Environmental Epidemiology Division,
3423 North Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., P.O. Box 30195, Lansing,
Michigan 48909. People may also call the toll-free telephone number,
800-648-6942. 

The Public Health Assessment for the Aircraft Components (Michigan
Radiologic) and H&K Sales (Michigan Radiologic) sites was conducted by
MDCH under a cooperative agreement with the federal Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). 

For more information, call Brendan Boyle at the MDCH Environmental
Epidemiology Division, 517-335-8350 or at the toll-free number listed
above. 
------------------
Sandy Perle
Technical Director
ICN Dosimetry Division
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Office: (800) 548-5100 x2306 
Fax:    (714) 668-3149
  
sandyfl@earthlink.net
sperle@icnpharm.com

Personal Website: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/1205
        
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