Public Health Assessment for Focused Petitioned Public Health Assessment Isla de Vieques Bombing Range, Vieques, Puerto Rico.

摘要

Isla de Vieques (Vieques) is part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, located about seven miles southeast of the main island of Puerto Rico. The United States Navy (Navy) owns approximately one-third of the island and conducts military training exercises that, until recently, included live bombing. A resident of Vieques requested (petitioned) the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) to determine if hazardous substances from the detonation of munitions at the Navy's bombing range pose a public health threat. A hazardous substance can affect human health only if people come into contact with the substance at the source or if the substance is transported to the public through a pathway (e.g., air, groundwater, soil, or biota). This public health assessment specifically focuses on the drinking water pathway with particular emphasis on explosive-related contamination.