Thursday, December 4, 2003

JEREMIAH STETTLER
THE SAGINAW NEWS

State health officials will turn to syringes and dust cloths next month to cope with dioxin concerns along the Tittabawassee River.

The state Department of Community Health reported Wednesday that it will begin sampling the blood of riverside residents beginning in January. It also will test dust in the homes.

The samples are part of a preliminary investigation to measure dioxin levels in people living along the contaminated floodplain. State and federal health agencies maintain that the toxin likely is cancer-causing.

The $370,000 study will examine 25 residents who have lived along the river for at least five years and whose property has dioxin levels above the state standard.

Linda Dykema, principal investigator for the health department, said it is the precursor to a more thorough investigation, which will include several hundred people in Midland and the Tittabawassee River floodplain downriver from the Dow Chemical Co., which many believe is the dioxin source.

"We are committed to trying to do a full study," Dykema said. "This (preliminary investigation) is meant to find out if we are doing it the right way."

Dow Chemical, which is involved in dioxin-related litigation, favors the study. Officials say a broad investigation of human dioxin levels will help determine the pollutant's impact.

"A full and comprehensive exposure study, which Dow has been behind since the beginning, is something that would put the puzzle pieces together and help answer people's questions about health," said Dow spokeswoman Terri M. Johnson.

Greg Whitney, 51, lives along the Tittabawassee River. He said the study is helpful but fails to address the more immediate concerns of residents.

"It's not getting to the issue that's important to people who live along the floodplain," he said. "What about the contaminated property that we live on? What's happening with it? They can do study after study, but we're still living there.

"Instead of saying, 'Don't go out there in your back yard and do this, this, this and this,' they are just saying, 'Give us some blood so we can carry it on for a longer period of time."'

Participants must have lived at their home for at least five years and have the ability to give 80 milliliters of blood, or eight test tubes, Dykema said.

Health officials will collect the blood and indoor dust samples by June and have the results to residents by October. The health department will then publish a report of its investigation by the end of the year.

The state Department of Environmental Quality also is sampling soil along the Tittabawassee River to determine dioxin levels in residents' properties. Residents must have toxin concentrations of at least 90 parts per trillion to participate.

Dykema said the blood and dust study will provide limited observations about where dioxin is found and whether residents' toxin levels are any different than other parts of the county.

The testing is funded jointly by the state health department and the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. t

Jeremiah Stettler is a staff writer for The Saginaw News. You may reach him at 776-9685.

© 2003 Saginaw News.