Technical Assistance Services for Communities What is TASC? Technical Assistance Services for Communities (TASC) is a new program to provide educational and technical assistance to communities affected by hazardous waste sites regulated by the Superfund and Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA) programs. This pro- gram, developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), provides non- EPA experts to explain hazardous waste issues at certain contaminated sites near your community and to interpret EPA's plans for cleaning up that waste. EPA offers assistance to help your community better understand the hazardous waste issues confronting it and to be well- informed while participating in the decision-making process. How can TASC kelp imj community? TASC provides technical assistance to help your community better understand and become involved in the cleanup process for hazardous waste sites. This assistance is provided by independent, outside technical experts, who can: • Answer questions about exposure to hazardous waste and the potential health effects; * Educate your community on the scientific, engineering, human and public health, or economic concepts related to the cleanup of hazardous waste; * Help your community to better understand cleanup technologies and their effectiveness; • Explain the cleanup process and how to become involved in the process; * Assist your community to identify possible land reuse or redevelopment options; and * Provide job training through the Super- fund Job Training Initiative (SuperJTI). What type of services does TASC provide? TASC services are unique for each community. Depending upon the needs of your community, TASC services may include: * Reviewing, interpreting, and explaining technical materials in an understandable way; • Preparing training materials for seminars and workshops and teaching these sessions; * Meeting with your community to answer questions and to listen to your concerns; • Preparing understandable fact sheets, brochures, technical summaries, maps, diagrams, models, or other visual aids; • Translating educational, outreach, and technical documents into other languages; • Planning and holding meetings to help your community determine how to use the land once it is cleaned up; and • Training community leaders on hazardous waste issues so they can explain these issues to your community. Who are the experts that provide the technical assistance? The technical experts available through TASC are environmental engineers and scientists from private companies and universities. Often these individuals live in the same city as the community request- ing help through TASC. These individuals are part of a network of experts EPA has contracted with to provide technical assistance services. How can I get TASC assistance? Contact the representative from your EPA Regional Office. A list of contacts is provided on the other side of this document. After this initial discussion, your community will need to request TASC support in a letter. www.epa.gov/superfund/community/tasc ------- Technical Assistance Services for Communities For more information or to request kelp, contact the EPA Regional TASC representative in your area (see below) or visit the TASC website, www.epa.govlsuperfundlcommunityltasc. Regional Offices U.S. EPA - Region 1 Jim Murphy One Congress Street, Suite 1100 (RAN) Boston, MA 02114-2023 (617)918-1028 murphy.jim@epa.gov U.S. EPA - Region 2 Wanda Ayala 290 Broadway, 26th floor New York, NY 10007-1866 (212)637-3676 ayala.wanda@epa.gov U.S. EPA - Region 3 Amelia Libertz 1650 Arch Street (3HS52) Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029 (215)814-5522 libertz.amelia@epa.gov U.S. EPA - Region 4 L'Tonya Spencer 61 Forsyth Street, S.W. Atlanta, GA 30303-8960 (404) 562-8463 spencer.latonya@epa.gov U.S. EPA - Region 5 Cheryl Allen 77 West Jackson Boulevard (P-19J) Chicago, IL 60604-3507 (312)353-6196 allen.cheryl@epa.gov U.S. EPA - Region 6 Donn Walters 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1200 (6SF-TS) Dallas, TX 75202-2733 (214) 665-6483 walters.donn@epa.gov U.S. EPA - Region 7 Belinda Young 901 North 5th Street Kansas City, KS 66101 (913)551-7463 young.belinda@epa.gov U.S. EPA - Region 8 Jennifer Chergo 999 18th Street, Suite 300 (8-OC) Denver, CO 80202-2466 (303)312-6601 chergo.jennifer@epa.gov U.S. EPA - Region 9 Luis Garcia-Bakarich 75 Hawthorne Street (SFD-3) San Francisco, CA 94105 (415)972-3237 garcia-bakarich.luis@epa.gov U.S. EPA-Region 10 Sally Hanft 1200 6th Avenue (ETPA-086) Seattle, WA 98101 (206)553-1207 hanft.sally@epa.gov TASC National Program Manager Karen L. Martin Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (5204P) U.S. EPA 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20460 (703) 603-9925 martin.karenl@epa.gov Je c h n i c a I Assistance Hen/ices for ommunities www. epa.gov/superfund/community/tasc \ Is there a hazardous waste site in your community? Are you concerned about how the hazardous waste can affect your family's health? Do you have questions about the risks of the hazardous waste? Do you need help interpreting technical information about the hazardous waste or the cleanup process? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new program, Technical Assistance Services for Commu- nities (TASC), can help your com- munity deal with these questions. EPA-540-K-08-001 ------- |