Anniston Star

Anniston Star
December 18, 2002

Feds explain plans for Anniston PCB health study

By Sara Clemence
Star Staff Writer
12-18-2002

Federal officials came to Anniston Tuesday to explain plans for a four-part, $3.2-million PCB health study here.

The details have not been sorted out and the millions have not yet materialized, but the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), which will oversee the proposed study, emphasized its commitment to the project.

"We're going to do this, the only question is when we're going to do it," said Dr. Henry Falk, assistant administrator of the ATSDR. "We're trying to determine what impact on health there has been from PCBs here."

Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, were used in a range of products, from lipsticks to electrical transformers, before they were banned in the 1970s. Monsanto manufactured PCBs in West Anniston for decades; now the chemicals contaminate portions of the city and county, and some residents have high levels in their blood.

For years, people have blamed a range of health problems on PCBs, and many believe the contaminant has caused high rates of illnesses, including cancer, in West Anniston. But nobody has ever been able to prove it.

"PCBs cause a number of effects, from developmental delays to immune problems," Falk said. But those problems aren't necessarily the result of PCB exposure.

"You have to look at a group that has been exposed and see if they have higher levels of abnormalities," Falk said.

That's the goal of the main component of the study, an epidemiological analysis that will be designed by the ATSDR with input from the community and then bid out to university researchers. The analysis will probably take three years, plus at least six months to plan it, Falk said.

The other parts of the study are:
An investigation into who has been exposed to PCBs and how. The EPA is already working on this, and it is expected to take two years.
A review of existing health data, including the state's death records and cancer registry.
An evaluation of area health-care services in Anniston, which is expected to take six to 12 months.

The components will all overlap, Falk said. The health-data review already is in progress, and the main study will start before the EPA completes its investigation into PCB exposure levels.

The study will begin next year, regardless of whether funding is approved in the 2003 federal budget in January, Falk said.

Falk, state epidemiologist Neil Sass, and other health officials met with Community Against Pollution, Vision 2020, the Calhoun County Commission, and other city and county officials Tuesday.

"This is excellent," said Anniston Mayor Chip Howell. "This is something the community's been wanting for a long time. This is fulfilling the promise."