From: | Aimee Houghton <aimeeh@igc.org> |
Date: | Fri, 01 Nov 1996 19:10:51 -0800 (PST) |
Reply: | cpeo-military |
Subject: | DIOXIN ISSUE BRINGS EXPERTS TO RMA |
From: Aimee Houghton <aimeeh@igc.org> We reported some time ago that the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment had found dioxin in birds of prey on the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. Dioxin has always been an area of concern for the citizens on the RMA Site Specific Advisory Board (SSAB). Armed with the information from the state's study the SSAB held a citizen workshop September 27 & 28. As stated in October 9th issue of "Defense Environmental Alert": "...top dioxin scientists aimed at giving an overview of dioxins, and "empower[ing] concerned individuals and groups with current technical knowledge and available resources," according to a planning guide for the workshop. Areas of discussion included how one goes about finding dioxin in the environment, if it's suspected at a site. A "big question here is how to go about testing" for the substance, which is an "extremely difficult thing to do," the SSAB source says. The panel included Raymond S.H. Yang, Ph.D., professor of Toxicology and director of the Center for Environmental Toxicology and Technology, CSU Colorado; Dr Arnold Schecter, professor of Preventative Medicine at the Health Sciences Center at SUNY-Brighamton, New York and author of "Dioxins and Health"; and Richard E. Peterson, PhD., Director of the Pharmacology and Toxicology program at the University of Wisconsin, Madision and has served on an EPA advisory panel, Health Assessment of Dioxin. Some of the dioxin-related issues the workshop focused on included: * exposure routes * effects on wildlife and humans * relative carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic toxicity levels * techniques and analytic methods for finding these compounds * treatment options * complexities in evaluating risk A video tape of this workshop will be forthcoming. We will provide ordering information when it becomes available. This workshop was put together and organized by the citizens of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal SSAB with support from the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment. Since the inception of the SSAB, these two organizations have been very good example of a successful partnering relationship. Currently, the Fish and Wildlife Service is collecting wildlife samples for dioxins and furans. Defense Environmental Alert states: "Included in the analyses will be eggs collected from American Kestrel nestboxes, livers from Great Horned Owls, fat samples from live-trapped badgers, and fish eggs. All samples will be taken from both on and off the arsenal. The samples will be screened first, and those with dioxins and furans present will then be analyzed for specific dioxin/furan compunds, and then compared to samples from other reference sites in the Denver metro area." Aimee Houghton | |
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