Citizens want CFAC info in layman's terms

At a public meeting to further discuss the Superfund designation of the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. site was held on Sept. 29, with the public expressing the need for information in “layman’s” terms.

At the meeting, Superfund Unit Supervisor Joe Vranka explained the scoring system of the site. The site has a 62.5 hazardous ranking score. To make a site listable as a Superfund, a minimum score of 28 is required, Vranka explained.

Vranka emphasized that the score is not a complete reflection of the site.

“It doesn’t represent how bad the site is compared to other scores. If there are human or environmental receptors, that’s what gives the score. It’s part of a risk assessment process,” Vranka said.

“The score doesn’t reflect the totality. It’s just to evaluate whether it needs further investigation, and whether it qualifies for more investigation. It’s to determine how bad it is or isn’t,” said Mike Cirian, Remedial Project Manager for the site.

David Dorian, a representative from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry also addressed community concerns about the health assessment of the site.

“The purpose of the health assessment is to see how the community is impacted,” Dorian explained, “it asks, what are the potential exposures?”

Wells at the site have shown unsafe levels of cyanide in groundwater, but tests, to date, have not shown cyanide in high levels outside the plant property.

Comments from the public requested that the information being distributed be translated to layman’s terms.

“Can’t they put some plain English in there?” asked one attendee.

The availability and accessibility of information was addressed by Robert Moler, Community Involvement Coordinator.

Another issue brought up was an apparent lack of a sense of urgency.

“There is an urgency. That’s one of the reasons it got listed,” Cirian reassured the crowd.

The site will require another year’s worth of sampling, Cirian said.

“We’re not just sitting still while we’re doing it,” he told the group. “We don’t have any numbers right now that are scary.”

The community also questioned what the next steps for the site were.

“The next steps are taking samples an analyzing them, and making sure we captured what’s happening. As we gather information, that will guide our next steps,” Cirian said. A