Chattanooga Creek Soil Study Results Released
Department of Health to Hold Community Forum
Nashville, February 23, 2006
The Tennessee Department of Health will hold a public meeting with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) to share the results of a soil study performed on a section of the Chattanooga Creek floodplain and discuss precautions to reduce potential exposure to hazards. The forum will be held Tuesday, February 28, 2006, at 6:30 p.m. EST, at the South Chattanooga Recreation Center located at 1151 West 40th Street in Chattanooga.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) performed a soil study on a section of the Chattanooga Creek floodplain, which was followed by a health consultation by the Tennessee Department, Division of Environmental Epidemiology addressing environmental public health questions related to harmful chemicals.
Located between East 38th Street and Hamill Road in south Chattanooga, the 88-acre Glover Site is the proposed location for a recreational greenway to be utilized by the Piney Woods, Alton Park and Wheeler Homes neighborhoods. Industrial operations contaminated Chattanooga Creek and its floodplain many years ago. At the request of community leaders, UTC partnered with Tennessee Technological University (TTU) to obtain an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Environmental Justice grant to characterize polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) levels in soils along the proposed greenway.
The Department of Health is responsible for environmental public health activities that relate to chemical exposure and pollution in Tennessee. Using UTC/TTU soil data, the Department of Health performed a health consultation on PAH in surface soils along the proposed greenway on the Glover property. This health consultation was ordered for the purpose of ensuring that a greenway would be safe for local residents and recreational users.
No apparent public health hazard for residents or recreational users was concluded from exposure to PAH along the proposed greenway on the Glover property; although it is recommended that warning signs be placed around the floodplain. An additional investigation by the Department of Health is required before the greenway can be recommended from an environmental public health perspective, so that any physical hazards or potential exposure to other contaminants can be evaluated. Precautions should also be taken to reduce potential exposures due to frequent flooding of the Chattanooga Creek floodplain.
The meeting will include presentations from UTC and the Department of Health. Representatives from other agencies including the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), EPA and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) will also be present to respond to community concerns.
For more information about the public meeting, please contact the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department at 1-423-209-8390 or the Tennessee Department of Health at 1-615-741-3446.