UAB researchers want to conduct PCB study at Anniston Middle

By Ben Cunningham
Star Staff Writer
09-24-2004

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham are hoping Anniston Middle School students can teach them something about how PCBs affect the human brain. Alan Percy and Fred Biasini, researchers from UAB's Sparks Clinics, visited the Anniston City Board of Education Thursday night to ask for board's help in a study of the effects of polychlorinated biphenyls on the developing brains of children. The scientists want to know if PCBs cause problems with learning, memory and behavior. "We don't know if we're going to find that, but this is the best way to find out," Biasini, a developmental psychologist, told board members. The researchers want to test PCBs levels in the blood of 300 sixth- and eighth-graders at Anniston Middle School, and test the blood of one parent of each of those children. They would measure the amount of PCBs and lead in the blood, and give the students a series of tests that measure intelligence and decision-making abilities. Monsanto manufactured PCBs at its plant in west Anniston for decades beginning in the 1930s. Since then, PCBs have been linked to health problems. Solutia, a successor company to Monsanto, has settled two class-action lawsuits with Anniston residents who have PCBs in their bodies and on their property. The researchers want to know if PCBs or heavy metals such as lead have an impact on they way children's brains develop, impairing their ability to learn, remember or make decisions. Students and parents would choose whether to participate in the study, and study results would be kept confidential, Percy, a pediatrician and neurologist, told the board. Parents could request a copy of the results, and researchers also would notify parents if results showed any cause for concern, he said. Board members were hesitant to allow the testing at the middle school, fearing the school system could be dragged into an emotional debate that has raged in the community since residents brought the first lawsuit against Monsanto. Board members Nathaniel Davis and Bill Robison asked the researchers what impact another round of blood testing could have in a city where many residents are disputing test results that have determined the amount of money they receive in the settlements. "I'm not unsympathetic," Robison said. "But we're going to drop Anniston City Schools right into the middle of that cauldron." Biasini said the researchers are sensitive to the community's concerns, and that the idea for the study came from residents. "This is something the community came to us and asked us if we could help with," Biasini said. Martha Lavender is the dean of Jacksonville State University's College of Nursing and co-principal investigator with the Anniston Environmental Health Consortium, which would help direct the study. She urged the board to consider allowing the research to take place at the school. "To provide information like that could be phenomenal," Lavender said. "I think there's an opportunity for Anniston to be a leader." Board members said they would consider the proposal. Chairwoman Vivian Thompson suggested that school officials consult with the system's parent advisory councils before making a decision. The Sparks Clinics at UAB conduct research and provide treatment for children and adults with mental retardation and developmental disabilities. The Anniston Environmental Health Consortium is a group of researchers at sites around the country who are studying the effects of PCB contamination. The proposed study would be funded by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

About Ben Cunningham

Ben Cunningham covers education issues and the city of Jacksonville for The Star.