Superfund: Public Health Assessments Incomplete and of Questionable Value
RCED-91-178
Published: Aug 01, 1991. Publicly Released: Sep 06, 1991.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO assessed the quality and usefulness of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's (ATSDR) health assessments of Superfund sites.
Recommendations
Matter for Congressional Consideration
| Matter | Status | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Congress may wish to consider reviewing the utility of ATSDR health assessments after allowing sufficient time for the new ATSDR health assessment procedures to take effect. If, at the end of this period, assessments have not proven useful, Congress may wish to reconsider whether the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act requirement for an ATSDR assessment of the public health effects of each Superfund site should be continued. |
Closed – Implemented
|
The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, House Committee on Energy and Commerce, has requested GAO to reexamine the quality and usefulness of ATSDR health assessments. GAO plans to begin this review in May 1993. |
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry | To ensure consistently acceptable quality of health assessments, the Administrator, ATSDR, should develop a plan to update past assessments. The plan should include a time schedule for revising assessments and a statement of the resources needed to meet it and should ensure that the most potentially hazardous sites are re-examined in accordance with the agency's current guidance. |
Closed – Implemented
ATSDR developed a plan to update old assessments.
|
| Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry | To ensure consistently acceptable quality of health assessments, the Administrator, ATSDR, should arrange for at least a sample of future assessments to be reviewed by outside, independent public health professionals. |
Closed – Implemented
ATSDR established an outside peer review board.
|
| Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry | To improve the usefulness of ATSDR assessments to EPA, the Administrator, ATSDR, and the Administrator, EPA, should set up an interagency work group to review how the value of ATSDR assessments to EPA could be increased and duplicate analyses avoided. |
Closed – Implemented
EPA and ATSDR are using their mid-management forum, an interagency work group, to deal with the issues GAO raised.
|
| Environmental Protection Agency | To improve the usefulness of ATSDR assessments to EPA, the Administrator, ATSDR, and the Administrator, EPA, should set up an interagency work group to review how the value of ATSDR assessments to EPA could be increased and duplicate analyses avoided. |
Closed – Implemented
EPA and ATSDR are using their mid-management forum, an interagency work group, to deal with the issues GAO raised.
|
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