=======================Electronic Edition========================
RACHEL’S HAZARDOUS WASTE NEWS #115
—February 7, 1989—
News and resources for environmental justice.
——
Environmental Research Foundation
P.O. Box 5036, Annapolis, MD 21403
Fax (410) 263-8944; Internet: erf@igc.apc.org
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LANDFILL STUDY FINDS LOW BIRTH WEIGHT IN BABIES, ADULT CANCERS.
A study of the health of residents living near the nation’s No. 1
superfund site–the Lipari landfill in Pitman, NJ-revealed last
week that excessive rates of leukemia among adults and low
birthweight among newborns have been found in those living
closest to the landfill. The leukemia numbers are small (3 cases
expected, 6 found), so the study does not prove beyond a doubt
that the landfill caused the cancers; such increases could have
occurred by pure chance. The low birthweight evidence is stronger
and implicates the landfill with statistical significance. When
all the facts were judged, the New Jersey Department of Health,
which conducted the study, concluded that the need to clean up
the site is “bolstered by the suggestive results of this study.”
The Lipari study was undertaken at the request of local people.
The study reveals some of the problems that can result from such
a health study.
Background
Nick Lipari bought a 15-acre site in Gloucester County, NJ, for a
sand and gravel operation in 1958; in the mid-’60s he dumped
large amounts of solid and liquid industrial wastes. Up to 1971,
the site accepted an estimated 2.9 million gallons of liquid
waste plus 12,000 cubic yards of solid waste, much of it toxic.
In 1970 the New Jersey Department of Health reported thick brown
residues with a “pungent irritating odor” leaking from the site
into a nearby stream. In 1971, nearby residents signed an
affidavit complaining of intolerable odors, headaches, nausea and
inability to breathe. The source of the odors was the landfill
itself and a community lake 1500 feet downstream of the
landfill. Because of these complaints, the NJ Department of
Enviromnental Protection closed the landfill operation.
For the next eight years, some people in the community used the
landfill as if it were a park. Children from the area played on
the site and a motocross bike trail developed. Joggers and hikers
crisscrossed the area. The lake itself borders on three community
parks, so swimmers and picnickers were exposed.
In 1979, NJ state government investigated a nearby marsh and
found bis (2-chloroethyl) ether (BCEE) at 120 ppm [parts per
million], methyl isobutyl ketone (83 ppm), acetone (51 ppm),
phenol (28 ppm), toluene (16 ppm), methyl ethyl ketone (9 ppm).
They also found pesticides, lead, arsenic, and other metals and
organics. No action resulted from these findings until 1982-83
when the site was fenced off and capped with plastic film.
As awareness of the site grew, people began to ask whether birth
defects, miscarriages, and lung cancer could be resulting from
the chemical exposures. They also thought school absenteeism
might be increasing as a result of children’s exposure to the
landfill. A citizens group formed, called the Pitman Alcyon Lake
Lipari Landfill Community Association (PALLCA). PALLCA became
aggressive, demanding a health study.
The New Jersey Department of Health agreed to do a study, but
they soon convinced the community that proper data were not
available to measure birth defects or miscarriages and, even in
those cases where data might exist, it would cost too much to get
it. The state has a cancer registry and it has a birth registry,
so everyone agreed to study not what the community thought needed
to be studied, but what was possible to study cheaply.
Now there is always a delay (called a latency period) between the
time a cancer begins and the time it become apparent. The latency
period for most cancers exceeds 25 years. The longest period of
exposure to the Lipari toxics that anyone can find was 1967 to
1984 (18 years) so no cancers with latency periods greater than
18 years could be revealed by such a study. The latency period
for leukemia is 17 to 20 years, so it is interesting that 3
excess leukemias were found, even though it proves nothing. It is
surprising that the community wanted a cancer study done at all,
since everyone knew from the outset that a cancer study would
have to reveal “no problem.” It was predestined.
The presence of low birth weight among newborns whose mothers
lived within a mile of the site was “statistically significant,”
meaning the observable decrease in the weight of newborns
probably didn’t occur by chance. This finding adds to the growing
body of scientific knowledge indicating that living near a toxic
landfill is not good for humans–a conclusion many people, using
common sense, have already reached without needing scientific
proof.
Free while they last: A REPORT ON THE HEALTH STUDY OF RESIDENTS
LIVING NEAR THE LIPARI LANDFILL (Trenton, NJ: NJ Department of
Health, 1989); phone Jackie Solomon at (609) 633-2043.
–Peter Montague, Ph.D.
Descriptor terms: health effects; studies; landfilling; water
pollution; health studies; njdoh; superfund sites; lipari; nj;
leukemia; air pollution; low birth weight; (2-chloroethyl) ether
(BCEE); methyl isobutyl ketone; acetone; phenol; toluene; methyl
ethyl ketone; pesticides; lead; arsenic;