May 18, 2005 [emphases added by website editor]

The attached spreadsheet is an incomplete draft of the Zeneca/ICI Americas/Stauffer/Cherokee-Simeon Ventures/Campus Bay and UC Field Station/Bayside Research Campus site chemicals with associated disease states as referenced in reputable published studies. The spreadsheet includes 123 chemicals and 17 PCBs. There are many more chemicals to add. More than 200 chemicals have been tested at the site. We wanted to start the list as a point of reference and a possible starting point for community knowledge. Cal EPA departments have access to extensive research and most of what is listed is widely known within their professional circles. We wanted a document which started to identify the range of the hazard while we wait for the professionals to make a concise formal written statement. If the list had shown a majority of chemicals as low impact or generally benign, there would be far less concern. Instead, as you can see, there are many chemicals in the very high or extreme category.

Many of the chemicals were tested at Hazardous Waste levels prior to commencement of site cleanup around 1998. As the cleanup progressed more Hazardous Waste level hot spots were confirmed. We have not had access to all of the chemical tests. The ideal document might show the highest reading(s) of each of the chemicals listed. However, the piecemeal approach to the original site characterization makes the task of finding and accurately reporting the highest readings difficult because none of the data is available in one source or electronically.

One obvious question when looking down any one of the disease state columns relates to the cocktail effect and load factor of the extreme impact chemicals. Both terms (cocktail effect and load factor) are our way of saying a mixture of many chemicals and the impact of ongoing low level exposures (possibly still not measurable with today's technology).

Example -- Given the excessive number of endocrine toxicants, what is the impact of ongoing low level exposure to a mixture of more than one or many of the chemicals known to disrupt the endocrine system?

Same question applies to cardiovascular, kidney, reproductive, respiratory, etc.

What consideration is given to children, pregnant women or people with compromised body systems, including immune, cardiovascular, endocrine, etc.?

When determining acceptable thresholds as we go forward, what consideration is given to the cocktail effect and load factor?

What consideration can be given to factor in the ever-changing/evolving scientific evidence which continues to prove these chemicals are far more hazardous than previously known?

Sherry Padgett, sherrybp@pacbell.net
Bay Area Residents for Responsible Development - BARRD