The Environmental Protection Agency did not consistently communicate human health risks at sites that may contain harmful contaminants, including Franklin’s Amphenol cleanup site, according to a report released Thursday.
An audit by the federal agency’s Office of Inspector General found that information about the contaminated sites had not been properly given to communities, hindering their abilities to determine risks of exposure to harmful contaminants, and said they are taking steps to remedy it.
“Inefficiencies in the EPA’s risk communication resulted in communities not being able to consistently rely on the EPA as a credible source to manage their risks,” the final report said.
Risk communication is intended to provide residents “with the information they need to make informed, independent judgements about risks to health, safety and the environment,” according to the EPA.
The full report follows a previous warning issued by the inspector general’s office in June 2019. At the time, the office indicated the information on the EPA’s website was not up to date and the situation in Franklin was not under control, as it was presented to be.
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The Amphenol site and others have been monitored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the Indiana Department of Environmental Management for decades.
Amphenol is one of thousands of contaminated sites across the country, created due to workplace practices before modern environmental laws were enacted. The EPA has been overseeing the cleanup at the site for more than 30 years.
The agency’s Cleanups in My Community website says both human health exposure and contaminated groundwater migration are “controlled” at the Amphenol site, but auditors with the inspector general argued that was misleading.
According to the inspector general’s office, region administrators had information since 2018 that suggested the Amphenol site should no longer be classified as “controlled.”
The inspector general’s office required that those overseeing the local projects verify the website information on the status of human health and groundwater migration issues was accurate and up-to-date. Those recommendations were completed by Oct. 7, 2019, the report said.
Still, the inspector general’s office investigated further to make sure there are no such communication lapses in the future.
The office reviewed eight contaminated sites around the country that were involved with the Office of Land and Emergency Management, which oversees the agency’s emergency response and waste programs. Of those eight, four were given a more in-depth look, including the Amphenol site in Franklin.
EPA officials had public listening sessions in Franklin, where local residents were able to voice their concerns and fill out questionnaires providing their perspectives on the timeliness and effectiveness of communication, and send emails or letters giving their input.
Using that information, and the feedback from residents at other sites, the inspector general’s office put together a report.
Auditors found the Office of Land and Emergency Management lacked a national communication strategy, a measurable standard of risk communication and guidance on who should receive sampling information in the communities where they worked.
The report also found that the EPA as a whole did not provide complete information on some chemicals.
“The EPA needs to improve its risk communication efforts and deliver accurate, timely risk messages that are appropriate for the affected communities. While each site and each community are unique, (the Office of Land and Emergency Management) should establish key risk communication internal controls, including developing standard guidance, policies and procedures to achieve management’s stated goals of timely and effective risk communication,” the report’s conclusion stated.
