Some heated debate emerged Wednesday when local residents and officials met at the Calhoun County Health Department to discuss a new program for environmental health to be funded by the Centers for Disease Control.
The two-year program, as announced in Wednesday's Anniston Star, will provide $141,500 to launch a team of community leaders who will respond to environmental health concerns in the county.
The program is called the Protocol for Assessing Community Excellence in Environmental Health (PACE-EH). Its goal is to identify environmental concerns in the county and public health measures needed for people at risk.
The overall reaction among the 20 residents at Wednesday's meeting was positive. However, questions concerning the amount of attention PCB pollution should receive from the program generated debate.
An Oxford resident and the state toxicologist, Dr. Neil Sass, both expressed concerns that attention to PCBs may distract needed attention from other environmental health problems in the county.
Shirley Baker, health coordinator for Community Against Pollution, asked whether that means PCBs shouldn't be treated as a "big issue."
Several PCB activists said they are frustrated that the PCB problem has not been remedied. "It's all over the county. We've got to get some cleanup," said Cassandra Roberts, of the Sweet Valley/Cobbtown taskforce.
Sass said PCBs remain a "big" issue, but he said there may be other concerns that have applicability to the entire county, such as lead contamination and community protection for a chemical weapons accident.
A voice of dissent about the program was raised by Larry Sylvester, outgoing president of the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce. Sylvester asked what value identifying environmental concerns will have if doing that presents "very negative perceptions" about Calhoun County.
Regional health administrator Donald Bain responded, saying, "What if we had somebody (years) ago saying the company shouldn't dump PCBs?"
Bain said he believes there is "irrational fear" about toxins, and he hopes the program will "point out what are real fears and what aren't."
Regarding PCB health worries, Bain said local residents "don't know which way to turn and who to believe. That's why they need to pick people to represent them."
Anniston Mayor Chip Howell, who attended the meeting, said he believes the program is important. "We've got to know what we don't know," he told the group.
For more information about the program, contact Donald Bain at the Calhoun County Health Department at 236-3274.
