The objective of this health assessment is to provide an evaluation of current and future potential health risks that may result from exposure to residual organochlorine pesticides at Franklin Elementary School in Phoenix, Arizona. The school has been unoccupied for the past 10 years. The historic school building is being restored by the school district, which plans to reopen the building for use as an elementary school. Several organochlorine pesticides were discovered in the soil during routine environmental sampling done in conjunction with the renovation. In particular, chlordane and dieldrin, banned in the United States in the early 1980's, were present in concentrations above screening levels.

A refuse dump near Naco, Sonora, Mexico, caught fire and burned from December 1 to December 5, 2001. The fire, which consumed large quantities of household refuse, also generated a large quantity of smoke. During this period, considerable smoke was intermittently present in Naco, Arizona. This report summarizes the events that occurred during the fire and analyzes the data collected by the Arizona Department of Health Services and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to determine the extent of the public health threat from the fire.