Members of the South Fulton and Fayette Community Task Force refuse to give up. It is now a full year since hundreds became ill after breathing the onion-like odor that state and federal investigators later said were emissions of the chemical odorant Propyl mercaptan from the Phillip Services Corp. plant near Fairburn. Residents say they are more committed than ever to pressing those same state and federal agencies to maintain medical follow-ups on the health status of affected citizens.

The most recent move by the task force took place Thursday at the intersection of Lee’s Lake Road and Milam Road in north Fayette County. Task force members passed out a new petition demanding that Georgia Division of Public Health (DPH) establish a verifiable follow along process to gauge the future health status of affected residents. So far, DPH is refusing, said task force chairman Connie Biemiller.

“We are here today because we are very upset with the Georgia Division of Public Health. They are refusing to follow us. We know we are going to be ill 10-20 years just like the Gulf War veterans,” Biemiller said. “This is why we are petitioning to have them follow us.”

Setting up tables at Bethany United Methodist Church in north Fayette again this summer, task force members Thursday afternoon also passed out new health surveys designed to document ongoing illnesses experienced in the Fulton/Fayette area. They also provided a form for a written rebuttal of the recent Health Consultation, a compilation by federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) of the effects of the chemical release on the community. Task force members maintain that the study failed to address many of the more significant factors related to the adverse health effects experienced by humans, domestic animals and area wildlife beginning in May last year.

The task force will conduct another public meeting on July 19 at 7 p.m. at Bethany United Methodist Church, located at intersection of Lee’s Lake, Milam and Rivers roads in north Fayette. It will be one year to the day when the first public meeting was held.

Task force information can be obtained at www.communitytaskforce.org

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