By Kim Kinnecom, Staff Writer
Sunday, June 10, 2007 — The Stanly County Board of Health has determined fish testing in Badin Lake and possibly Little Mountain Creek is necessary after meeting with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) last month.
Health Department Director Dennis Joyner said the main question that loomed in the air after the meeting with DENR was; would fish testing be beneficial in determining possible effects of accumulative contamination from groundwater run off?
He said the board agreed fish testing would be one major way to see if and how much various fish species are contaminated from groundwater run off that contains various levels of toxins as a result of Alcoa’s operations.
Last month, DENR officials addressed numerous questions posed by the Board of Health that arose as a result of Alcoa’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) relicensure application to transition its Badin operation from aluminum production to power generation.
At that meeting, the Board of Health members emphasized their interest in the matter focuses on the current and future public health risks of hazardous materials, irrespective of the FERC relicensure application process.
Dr. Ken Rudo an official from the Division of Public Health Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch suggested fish testing as an appropriate way to measure any accumulative effects various contaminants such as cyanide, fluoride, chromium and arsenic could have.
Joyner reported to the board Thursday evening that he has participated in lengthy conference calls with officials from the State Division of Environmental Epedimiology and Weston Solutions, an environmental consulting group, who strongly recommended proceeding with fish testing.
While a contract with Weston Solutions has not been made, Joyner said the group has provided much needed technical and scientific assistance to both Joyner and Dr. Luanne Williams of the State Division of Environmental Epedimiology’s Division of Public Health.
The group is currently working on a design of how the fish study would work and Joyner should know more within a few weeks.
“There is potential for them doing a study, but we are in the very, very planning stages. Once we get the draft and a potential ballpark cost, we’ll sit down with all the parties and have a more formal discussion of where to go from here,” Joyner said.
In other business:
n Joyner informed the board of the Albemarle Parks and Recreation pool permitting issues that arose this week;
n Joyner informed the board of a program, Fluent Language Solutions, that is available for over-the-phone interpretation and
n Karen Lowder, clinical services supervisor made a presentation to the board regarding the health department’s clinical services.
Kim Kinnecom can be contacted at snaponline24@yahoo.com
