November 23, 2004

The Michigan Department of Community Health will host a public availability session on December 2 to address community concerns surrounding a vermiculite plant in Dearborn where workers were exposed to hazardous levels of asbestos.

The session will be held at the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) from 7 to 9 p.m. (6450 Maple Street).

Workers at the former W. R. Grace & Company vermiculite exfoliation plant in Dearborn – from the early 1950s to 1990 – were exposed to hazardous levels of asbestos, according to a recently released public health consultation from the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) and the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).

The primary purpose of this meeting is to receive and answer questions, comments, and concerns regarding both the health consultation document and potential past and current exposures to asbestos-contaminated vermiculite at/around the site of the former W.R. Grace facility.

Representatives from MDCH, ATSDR, ACCESS, the Environmental Protection Agency, the City of Dearborn, and the National Center for Vermiculite and Asbestos-Related Cancers (affiliated with the Karmanos Cancer Institute) will be present.

EPA also is surveying properties in the Dearborn area where vermiculite material from the W.R. Grace plant may have been deposited. Community residents who believe the material was used in their yards or on their properties, most likely in gardens or to fill in holes, should fill out an EPA survey form and access agreement at the December 2 meeting.

The forms are also available from EPA community involvement coordinator Cheryl Allen, (800) 621-8431, ext. 36196, or allen.cheryl@epa.gov.

Written comments and questions on the health consultation document should be submitted to:

Erik R. Janus, Division of Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology, Bureau of Epidemiology

Michigan Department of Community Health, 3423 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

P.O. Box 30195, Lansing, MI 48909

For more information about the session, community members may contact Erik Janus toll-free at 800-648-6942, or via electronic mail at januse@michigan.gov.