NEWS RELEASE
Apr 20, 2000

Public Meeting Scheduled in Alpena to discuss Public Health Assessment

 

The Michigan Department of Community Health will hold a public meeting to discuss the Petitioned Public Health Assessment for the Lafarge Corporation-Alpena Plant on Wednesday, April 26, 2000. The public meeting is scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m. at the Alpena County Board of Commissioners conference room in the County Annex Building, 719 West Chisholm Street. Department of Community Health staff will also be available at the same place for informal discussion and to answer questions between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. that day.

The Petitioned Public Health Assessment was released by the Department of Community Health on March 23, 2000. The Assessment documented that environmental contamination in Alpena does not pose any apparent public health hazard. However, there is not adequate data available to evaluate the health hazards from hydrogen chloride emitted by the Lafarge plant in Alpena. This Petitioned Public Health Assessment is an update and revision of the Draft Petitioned Public Health Assessment that was released for public comment last April.

The Lafarge Corporation-Alpena Plant is a major portland cement manufacturing plant on the north side of Alpena. The plant started operation in 1908 and was purchased by the Lafarge Corporation in 1986. Lafarge has said they will end the practice of using toxic wastes from other plants to supplement the fuel in the kilns in 2001. The plant has a history of releasing cement kiln dust (CKD) into the environment and winds would carry the dust over the city. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has cited Lafarge many times for violations of the limits on the release of dust and other contaminants, including hydrogen chloride (hydrochloric acid), in their operating permits.

Several other industrial plants in Alpena, including an ABT Co. particle-board factory, the Fletcher Paper Company and the municipal sewage treatment plant, have also been blamed for polluting the air in the city. In addition, Alpena residents have complained of respiratory problems and skin and eye irritation at times of visible air pollution. They also perceive that the area has a high rate of cancer, birth defects, and other illnesses.

A physician residing in Alpena petitioned the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) to conduct a Public Health Assessment focusing on the hydrogen chloride emissions from the Lafarge plant. The ATSDR, under the terms of a cooperative agreement with the Department of Community Health, requested the Department conduct the assessment. The Department of Community Health has evaluated the available environmental and health data on the city, including but not restricted to the question of hydrogen chloride from the Lafarge plant.

The Department of Community Health found there was no data available on the amounts of hydrogen chloride in the ambient air of Alpena. The Michigan Departments of Community Health and Environmental Quality, ATSDR, and District Health Department #4 are cooperating to collect such data.

No chemical has been found in environmental media in Alpena at a concentration that is likely to cause adverse health effects. The lead concentration in some soil in the city does exceed the Department of Environmental Quality Clean-up Criteria, but the concentrations are within the range found in similarly-sized cities. The Department of Community Health and District Health Department #4 have programs set up for monitoring and responding to lead in children's blood. The Department of Community Health will work to enhance and expand these programs.

The available data on disease incidence and mortality among residents of Alpena does not show any significant increases over residents of the rest of Michigan.

Further public comment on the Petitioned Public Health Assessment is welcomed. The Petitioned Public Health Assessment is available at the Alpena County Library and in the District Health Department #4 offices in Alpena for review. Information and comments should be addressed to the Michigan Department of Community Health, Division of Environmental Epidemiology, 3423 North Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., P.O. Box 30195, Lansing, Michigan 48909 or by calling toll-free, 1-800-MI-TOXIC (1-800-648-6942).