| Health study
under way |
|
| Kathie Marchlewski , The Midland Daily News | 12/04/2003 |
| A preliminary study of
human exposure to dioxin in the Tittabawassee River flood plain is under way and is
expected to be completed by October 2004. Dr. Linda Dykema of the Michigan Department of Community Health presented an outline of plans to a panel of Midland, Freeland and Saginaw community leaders and residents at a DEQ-sponsored meeting Wednesday. The study will link levels of property and indoor dust contamination with the level of dioxin found in the blood of 25 residents who have lived on flood plain property for more than five years. The DEQ is conducting soil sampling at selected homes now, and the highest levels of dioxin will be combined with years of residency to find what are potentially the worst-case scenarios. Blood donors, who will be asked to volunteer eight 10 ml tubes of blood, will be contacted beginning in January. The study is a response to dioxin contamination deposited into the river by historical manufacturing processes of Midland’s Dow Chemical Co. It has drawn criticism for its small scope, but is intended to guide a larger future study. A full exposure study including a sample of several hundred people would cost a "phenomenal amount of money," Dykema said. However, such a study will be conducted "if funding can be secured." "There are a lot of issues with that," she said. "The state certainly doesn’t have the money. Dow has agreed to pay, but we haven’t found the legal mechanism that would allow us to accept that funding." Meanwhile, she said, the pilot investigation will prepare the MDCH for a broader project by testing the sampling criteria and methodology. Its cost is estimated at $370,000 – $300,000 for soil sampling, $40,000 for blood testing and $30,000 for indoor dust sampling. Results will be limited. If the contaminant is found in residents’ blood, the test won’t be able to identify where the dioxin came from, because some dioxin occurs naturally in cooking and other processes. It also will not be able to identify how dioxin entered the body and results won’t be representative of others living in the flood plain. "We will not be able to say, ‘We found these blood levels in these people and that means that everyone in the flood plain has these levels,’" Dykema said. She added the study won’t show whether dioxin in blood levels came from contact with contaminated soil in yards or from elsewhere, and it won’t be an indicator of potential health effects. The test will provide information residents can use to modify their behaviors to limit exposure if it has taken place. For more information or to comment about the study, contact Dykema at 1-800-648-6942. |
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| İMidland Daily News 2003 | |
For additional articles like this one, go to the Tittabawasse River Watch web site www.trwnews.net for complete coverage of the Tittabawassee River Dow Chemical dioxin contamination saga. . The Newspaper / Media page of our site contains an extensive archive of media articles dating back to January 2002. The source organization's web site link is listed to the right of the article, visit often for other news in our area. The Newspaper / Media page may be accessed by scrolling down to the bottom of the CONTENTS section and clicking on the Newspaper/Media link.