January 27, 2004

The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) recently released a public Health Consultation – Response to Public Comments for West KL Avenue Landfill. The consultation addresses public comments received for the May 2003 draft public health consultation for the site.

West KL Avenue Landfill is a former sanitary landfill in Oshtemo Township, Kalamazoo County. It operated from the 1960s until it was closed, by order of the state, in 1979. The state ordered the landfill closed after volatile organic compounds were detected in residential wells in the area. U.S. EPA placed the site on the National Priorities List in 1982 and later signed a Record of Decision (ROD) that selected a final cleanup for the site.

Remediation steps included placing an impermeable cap over the landfill. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality mandates that closed landfills be covered with an impermeable cap. MDCH also recommended that remediation steps be completed. As private wells became impacted by the contaminated groundwater, homes were connected to the municipal water supply that had been extended to the area.

In 2002, U.S. EPA amended the ROD so that municipal water would be supplied to homes ahead of the path of the plume. This proactive measure would help prevent possible future exposures to contaminated groundwater. MDCH supports this protective measure.

As part of the regulatory process for the amendment to the ROD, U.S. EPA held a public meeting for the township residents in October 2002. Several residents raised health concerns about the West KL Avenue Landfill site. These concerns are addressed in the Health Consultation.

The Department of Community Health conducted a follow-up meeting with the community June 4, 2003. Questions and concerns voiced at this meeting are also addressed in the Health Consultation. Copies of the Health Consultation Response to Public Comments are available at the Kalamazoo Public Library, Oshtemo Branch, 7265 W. Main St., Kalamazoo, Michigan.

The consultation is also posted on the Department of Community Health website at http://www.michigan.gov/mdch. Questions regarding the consultation may be addressed to Christina Bush, Michigan Department of Community Health, Division of Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology, at bushcr@michigan.gov or at 1-800-648-6942. The Michigan Department of Community Health Division of Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology conducted the Public Health Consultation for West KL Avenue Landfill under a cooperative agreement with the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).

Information concerning the human health effects of exposure to specific environmental contaminants can be found on the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) web page at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaq.html.