ATSDR, a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, recommends that former employees of W.R. Grace/Zonolite Company site at 12340 Conway Road in Beltsville, Maryland and those who lived in their households learn more about asbestos and see a physician regarding potentially adverse health effects.
The former W.R. Grace/Zonolite Company site operated from 1966 until the early 1990s. The plant processed vermiculite mined in Libby, Montana. The vermiculite ore processed in Beltsville contained asbestos, which can become airborne and can be inhaled. Exposure to asbestos fibers is associated with serious adverse human health effects, including lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis, a disorder that restricts breathing capacity.
“Because of the elevated health risk, ATSDR believes former W.R. Grace/Zonolite employees and members of their households should seek medical follow-up,” stated Vikas Kapil, M.D., a specialist in occupational and environmental medicine with ATSDR. “We encourage them to consult with a physician with expertise in the evaluation and management of asbestos-related lung disease.”
The Beltsville site is part of ATSDR’s National Asbestos Exposure Review (NAER), being conducted in two phases with other federal, state and local environmental and public health agencies. NAER is an examination of more than 200 sites around the U.S. that received asbestos-contaminated vermiculite ore mined in Libby from the early 1920s until 1990. ATSDR is working closely with EPA and state health partners to determine if a hazard to public health exists at any of the sites.
The public health consultation and fact sheet for the Beltsville site are available on the Internet at the following address: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/naer/beltsvillemd.
(via ATSDR – Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry)
Comments on this entry are closed.