Are the residents of Vieques being exposed to harmful levels of chemicals in the soil on Vieques?
No. The levels of metals and other chemicals detected on Vieques are too low to be of health concern for both adults and children through incidental ingestion or dermal contact with the soil. Of the metals detected in the soil across Vieques, only seven (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, iron, manganese, lead, and vanadium) were detected above comparison values (see Table 9). After detailed evaluations of these seven metals, as well as mercury, ATSDR concluded that all the chemicals detected in the soil on Vieques were at concentrations too low to be of health concern for anyone incidentally ingesting or touching the soil. Exposure from Incidental Ingestion of Soil on Vieques For exposure through incidental ingestion, ATSDR derived conservative exposure doses for the metals detected above comparison values by using the maximum concentrations in the equation listed in the Methods Used to Evaluated Public Health section (IV.B) and by comparing the estimated exposure doses to standard health gu
