NEWS RELEASE
April 2, 1998

Three Toxic Waste Sites Evaluated

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 of 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, 1-800-648-6942.

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.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Geralyn Lasher
April 2, 1998 (517) 335-8023