TN Online - January 19, 2006
© 2005 Times News
Back to previous page
Tri-county cancer clusters
Over 300 pack Hometown Fire Co. seeking answers
By DONALD R. SERFASS
dserfass@tnonline.com
DONALD R. SERFASS/TIMES NEWS
"Chemical carcinogens link liver
neoplasms to exposure," says Dr. Peter
Baddick at Wednesday's public forum
to discuss results of a Department of
Health study on cancer incidence in the
local area. Baddick presented photos of
a diseased fish he said was caught in
the source drinking water for the
Tamaqua area.
At a meeting held in the backyard of three Superfund sites, the state Department of
Health tried to sell a cancer-lifestyle link.
Local residents, however, weren't buying.
Over 300 jammed into Hometown Fire Company on Wednesday evening to hear results
of a 15-month descriptive study into cancer incidence as conducted by the DOH's
Bureau of Epidemiology.
Instead of focusing on a narrow geographic area, such as Ben Titus Road, a known
trouble spot, the study looked at reported cancer cases in Schuylkill, Carbon and
Luzerne counties over a seven-year period from 1996 to 2002.
It included 80 zip codes and looked at 27 different types of cancer.
The results of the statistical report fall short of providing the answers people were
looking for.
In fact, DOH officials said that no DOH in the country is equipped to do a cause and
effect study, the kind needed to draw a connection between cancer cases and
pollutants in the environment.
But it took almost two hours before that information was made clear at the public forum.
From the start, local residents tried to get direct answers from the DOH representatives.
But the responses often were verbose and circuitous.
"Will you do a cause and effect study," asked Mike Polyak, Tamaqua.
In response, DOH epidemiologist Dr. Gene Weinberg provided a lengthy explanation of
how a study is typically performed. He failed to give a yes or no answer.
Polyak also took the DOH to task presenting misleading information. The DOH claims
that polycythemia vera, the rare blood disorder uncovered among residents of Ben Titus
Road, has no known causes. Yet the department admits that the subject has never
been studied.
"How can you say that it has no known cause when you've never studied it," Polyak asked.
No answer was provided.
Weinberg admitted that "cancer is a big problem in Pennsylvania with 492,000 new cases in the seven-year period."
His presentation focused on common cancers – colorectal, lung, breast and prostate.
He attributed colorectal cancer to dietary habits, and lung cancer to smoking.
"Ninety percent of the cases would disappear if we didn't have smoking," he said. He attributed women's breast cancer to "factors
they carry with them such as hormones prior to pregnancy."
He acknowledged that cases of Hodgkins and Non-Hodgkins lymphoma could be traced to "viruses, HIV and exposure to
environmental pollutants."
In mentioning polycythemia vera, Weinberg stated that it is "a disorder of the stem cells and it's highest rate is among Jews of
European descent. We know little about how it arises. In terms of environmental causes, I haven't been able to find something that
gives me a lead into it. The difficulty is making a link to the environment."
When it became apparent that a special project would be required to provide answers, Tamaqua resident Ann Simard asked how
that might be accomplished.
"How do we go about getting a study done because that's what we need," Simard asked.
At that point, Lansford native Dr. Sam Leshko, sitting in the audience, stood up and said the usual approach would be to "find an
http://www.tnonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060119/TN_NEWS/101190017&template=printart (1 of 2)1/19/2006 7:23:22 PM
