As part of our on-going cooperative effort, Public Health has received additional grant funding from Ecology in the amount of $1.5 million. These funds will allow Public Health to continue investigating the extent of arsenic and lead contamination in soils on Vashon and Maury Islands as well as at some sites on the King County mainland. A public participation plan will be developed and implemented to promote effective community input and agency outreach for the residents on Vashon-Maury Island. The plan will be developed with the community and reviewed by them.

Human Health Investigations

In cooperation with the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), Public Health is reviewing health statistics from death certificates and cancer incidence for relevant health outcomes to respond to expected public concern. We expect that this analysis will only be able to detect extremely high levels of risk, if they exist. The analysis is in progress and will be released by end of August, 2000.

Public Health and DOH are collaborating on evaluating additional health studies for Vashon-Maury Island. Public Health has already met with DOH, and researchers at the University of Washington and the EPA, and we are currently planning on providing a fact sheet on the usefulness of arsenic biological monitoring measures for concerned citizens.

State Agencies

DOH will continue to be available to residents and Public Health - Seattle & King County in assessing risks and health outcomes. DOH has been a key partner with us in evaluating the public health impact of the arsenic and lead levels found on the Vashon-Maury Island and has contributed significantly to the development of the health information.

Ecology has been identified as the lead agency for remediation efforts. This current investigation was funded through a grant from Ecology.

Federal Agencies

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is the federal agency which provides public health support to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and citizens at Superfund sites. We have consulted with the Region 10 Office and have their commitment to assist in the evaluation of the public health impact of soil levels for arsenic and lead on Maury/Vashon Island and the adjacent coastal mainland area of King County. ATSDR offers assistance through health consultations and as a resource in working with the community as we explore the questions that are raised by the results.

The EPA is responsible for the regulation and enforcement of pollution producing industries and clean-ups of superfund sites. Under an agreement reached in May 2000 between EPA and Ecology, the lead role for remediation efforts in the area covered by this study will be taken by Ecology.

Health Providers - Medical Testing

If residents have health concerns, they should contact their regular health provider for information and counseling.

Public Health has made arrangements through its providers network system to make information available to area doctors so that they can answer patient inquiries about medical monitoring.

Groundwater Testing

The King County Surface Water Management Program deals comprehensively with stormwater, water quality and groundwater issues. There is no reason to believe that there are any arsenic problems with the water supply on Vashon-Maury Island, but the recent extension of this program's service area to Vashon-Maury Island provides the opportunity for King County to further test the groundwater on Vashon-Maury Island to reassure residents.

For more information, please visit the U.S. Geological Survey's webpage on Arsenic in the Ground Water of the United States at: http://co.water.usgs.gov/trace/arsenic.

Residential Soil Testing

Public Health recommends that residents who are interested in taking their own soil samples use our self-test sampling protocols and have samples analyzed at Ecology certified laboratories. The self-test protocol is included in this report. For additional copies of the protocol, call Public Health's Hazards Line (206-296-4692), or send an email by clicking here. For a list of certified labs, interested parties should call Ecology at (425) 649-7000.