Abex/Remco Hydraulics Corporation, Willits - Public Health Activities

The Abex/Remco Hydraulics Corporation operated as an industrial machine shop, which included chromium plating in Willits, Mendocino County, from the 1950s to 1995. In June 2000, due to ongoing community health concerns, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requested assistance from the Environmental Health Investigation Branch, Site Assessment Section (SAS), of the Department of Health Services (CDHS), to help respond to concerns and assess the health impact posed by the site. Since that time, SAS has been conducting public health activities. SAS conducts public health activities through a cooperative agreement with the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). As part of the process, SAS organized a site team or group of stakeholders including community, county health department, a former worker, and others to ensure multiple viewpoints contribute to the health assessment process.

SAS conducted two public health assessments at the Abex/Remco site, and a health consultation considering health studies options for the Willits community. In addition, CDHS worked with the University of California, San Francisco, to convene a panel of experts who considered the feasibility of medical monitoring for the Willits community who had been exposed to chromium.

Timeline of Work by CDHS at the Abex/Remco Site

Public Health Assessments

Public Health Assessment: Air Releases of Hexavalent Chromium [7/04]

In July 2004, CDHS released the final draft of the Public Health Assessment on Air Releases of Hexavalent Chromium from the Abex/Remco facility. In the report, CDHS concludes that releases of hexavalent chromium in the air from the facility posed a public health hazard during the period chromium-plating operations were conducted (1963–1995). A draft report was released for public comment in July 2003. Any comments received have been addressed in the final version.

Click to view Fact Sheet summarizing the findings of the public health assessment on air releases of hexavalent chromium.

En Español: Boletín Informativo resumiendo la evaluación de salud pública 

Comprehensive Public Health Assessment [8/2/06]

In August 2006, CDHS released the final draft of the Comprehensive Public Health Assessment (Click to view the summary only of the report). In the comprehensive health assessment, CDHS evaluated all possible routes of exposure (exposure pathways) through water, soil, air, and plants. In the report, CDHS concludes that most of these exposure pathways pose no apparent public health hazard. Each pathway was evaluated on the basis of available data, and two past exposure pathways had insufficient information for a thorough evaluation: breathing air emissions of volatile organic compounds and swimming or wading in Baechtel Creek. Therefore, the report concludes that those two exposure pathways posed an indeterminate public health hazard in the past.

Note: ATSDR used computer modeling to estimate the levels of airborne 1,1,1-trichloroethane from activities at the Remco plant during 1988 and 1990 (Abex/Remco Health Consultation 1,1,1-Trichloroethane Modeling Report [6/8/06]). This information was included in the comprehensive public health assessment released in August 2006.

En Español: Resumen de la Evaluación de Exposiciones a Contaminantes de la Plata Antigua Abex/Remco  

Recommendations made in the Public Health Assessments:

1. CDHS/ATSDR recommend remediation of the groundwater to prevent future impacts to private irrigation wells and prevent exposure from breathing volatile organic compounds in indoor air from soil gas migration/vapor intrusion.
2. CDHS/ATSDR recommend Mendocino County Department of Environmental Health work with the California Regional Water Quality Control Board to provide education to the citizens of Willits, notifying people of areas where contamination sources have been identified.
3. CDHS/ATSDR recommend that the feasibility of medical monitoring/clinical evaluation be considered for Willits residents and people who worked in Willits, who may have been exposed to air releases of hexavalent chromium from Remco between 1963 and 1995. If medical monitoring is undertaken, CDHS recommends that an expert work group with community representation be established to develop a protocol for medical monitoring/clinical services, including criteria for participation and an overall implementation plan.
4. CDHS/ATSDR recommend counseling and stress support services be considered for impacted residents and workers, as needed. These activities could fall under the medical monitoring provision of the Consent Decree.
5. CDHS/ATSDR recommend that the Willits Trust implement adequate measures to mitigate resuspension of hexavalent chromium-contaminated dusts or soil that could be generated during remedial activities at the site. This should be conducted in conjunction with air monitoring, using detection limits adequate to protect public health.

Health Consultation

Evaluation of Health Studies Possibilities and Limitations at the Abex/Remco Hydraulics Facility [7/11/06]

In 2006, CDHS release a health consultation outlining options for health studies or other research activities that might be considered in the Willits community. Some health study options were not recommended. Some research activities could be considered. Carrying them out would depend on a funding source and strong community interest.

Medical Monitoring Expert Panel Workshop

Expert Panel Report: Recommendations for Conducting Medical Monitoring for Residents of Willits, California and Workers Exposed to Hexavalent Chromium and Volatile Organic Compounds from the Abex/Remco Hydraulics Facility [11/30/06]

In 2006, CDHS worked with the University of California, San Francisco, to convene a panel of experts from across the country who considered the feasibility of conducting medical monitoring among Willits residents who had been exposed to chromium. Panelists included persons with experience in medical monitoring of communities exposed to hazardous waste, physicians with environmental and/or occupational medicine expertise, toxicologists and researchers with experience in environmental exposures, a physician with pulmonary medicine expertise, physicians and health officials from the community, and a physician requested by the City of Willits.

Recommendations made by the Expert Panel:

1. Notification of exposed residents
2. Access to registered nurse trained in environmental health
3. Health education and counseling
4. Access to medical care by qualified local medical practitioners
5. Referral to an occupational and medical medicine expert
6. Healthcare should be provided at no extra charge