Assessment of Health Effects of Environmental Contamination

Abstract The Shoshone-Paiute Tribes (“the Tribes”) of the Duck Valley Reservation (“the Reservation”)—a federally recognized Indian tribe in Idaho and Nevada—are concerned about public health risks to the local community due to several contamination events dating to the middle of the last century. Remediation efforts since 1995 by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), whose facilities were tied to sources of contamination, have included plugging the injection well, removal of the heating oil pipeline, and removal of contaminated soil. Concerns remain among members of the Tribes, however, regarding whether many health issues in the community might be attributable to previous or ongoing contamination of soil and groundwater. This study will assess the public health risks experienced by the Tribes due to these contamination events and identify potential actions to prevent future morbidity and mortality.