RECOMMENDATION SIX Risk Communication The Panel recommends that the District of Columbia's Department of Health, in collaboration with other agencies (e.g., Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Corps of Engineers) develop a well thought out approach to risk communication - the interpretation and translation of all environmental and health related data collected relevant to the Spring Valley Community. Special attention should be paid to what Spring Valley residents want to know about the detected and measured contaminants and their health effects. Communication is a two-way street. Unless the government agencies know what the Spring Valley residents want and need to know, time and energy may be wasted. The Panel believes it important that the involved govemmental agencies enhance community members understanding of the fundamental principles of toxicology, and environmental risk including concepts of exposure, dose and bioavailability—the ability of a contaminant that enters the body to be liberated from its environmental matrix (e.g., soil, water, tissue) and to enter circulation. Bioavailability varies not only with the chemical itself but also with the matrix (soil, water, and food). For example, the likelihood that a plant will take up a contaminant from the soil is also a function of bioavailability. CONCLUSION The Panel concludes that further steps (e.g., data collection, analysis) are necessary to provide sufficient information for a more complete understanding of environmental and health conditions in the Spring Valley community. The additional activities needed are reflected in the recommendations of the Panel. GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Anthony A. Williams Mayor Bailus Walker, Jr., Ph.D., MPH REPORT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA MAYOR'S SPRING VALLEY II. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA MAYOR'S SPRING VALLEY SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY PANEL 825 North Capitol Street, NE, Washington, DC Conference Room 4131 Wednesday, April 25, 2001 Welcome and Call to Order * AGENDA * Bailus Walker, Jr., PhD, MPH, Chairman, Spring Valley Scientific Advisory Panel Presentations Moderator: Bailus Walker, Jr., PhD, MPH, Chairman, Spring Valley Scientific Advisory Panel History of the Spring Valley Site & USACE's Soil Sampling Strategy Major Brian Plaisted, Deputy District Engineer for Spring Valley U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's Exposure Investigation Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry American University's Exposure Investigation Paul Chrostowski, PhD, QEP, FRSH, Principal CPF Associates, Inc. Summary of the Health Effects Lynette Stokes, PhD, MPH, Chief, Bureau of Hazardous Material and Toxic Substances Descriptive Epidemiological Study of Cancers Associated with Arsenic Vincent Kofie, PhD, Director of Surveillance and Epidemiology |