ATSDR -- FY 1999 AGENCY PROFILE AND ANNUAL REPORT
Examples of findings from studies finalized in FY 1999 include the following:
A study ATSDR conducted in California found that racial or ethnic minority
infants whose mothers had lived in a census tract with a National Priorities List
site were at slightly increased risk for birth defects. The risk was highest for
neural tube defects and musculoskeletal defects. Previous ATSDR studies
evaluating the relationship between birth defects and living near other hazardous
waste sites also found increases in birth defects such as neural tube and
musculoskeletal defects.
The New York State Department of Health conducted a health statistics review to
assess cancer statistics in Broome County for 1981 through 1990. The study
updated a previous study that focused on 19761980. The county's drinking
water supplies had been found in the late 1970s to contain VOCs at levels
exceeding the state drinking water guidelines. Because of the latency period for
cancer, the state conducted the ATSDR-funded follow-up study. The new study
found no consistent patterns of excesses or deficits for the 10 different types of
cancers studied. However, the area of Broome County with the highest level of
trichloroethylene was found to have a significant excess in non-Hodgkin's
lymphoma cases, primarily among males.
The California Department of Health Services conducted a surveillance study to
assess whether illnesses were associated with the cleanup of the Ralph Gray
Trucking Company National Priorities List site in Orange County. The study
found that the group of residents who previously had respiratory problems
reported increased wheezing and coughing when the amount of wastes
excavated from the sites was highest. Wheezing and coughing were significantly
associated with tonnage of waste removed, especially on days when the highest
amounts of waste were removed.
Another FY 1999 study that assessed respiratory health effects also found an
increase in respiratory illness in connection with a hazardous waste site, in this
case the Fresh Kills Municipal Landfill on Staten Island, New York. The study
found that people who had been diagnosed with asthma were more likely to
experience respiratory illness when they noticed that odors from the landfill were
strongest.
During FY 1999, ATSDR also published the HSEES report for 1998. The report
summarized the characteristics of events reported to the 13 states that participated in the
program in 1998. These states reported a total of 5,987 events for 1998. Approximately
79% of the events occurred at fixed facilities and 21% were transportation related. In 96%
of events, only a single substance was released. VOCs were the most commonly reported
categories of substances released. During 1998, 405 events (approximately 7% of all
reported events) resulted in a total of 1,533 victims.
ADVANCING HEALTH EDUCATION AND PROMOTION
ATSDR's Division of Health Education and Promotion works to educate individuals,
communities, and health-care providers about the health effects of hazardous substances
in the environment. In FY 1999, ATSDR and its partners conducted health education and
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