PCB News Around the World

PCBS: ATSDR PLANS STUDY OF ALABAMA CONTAMINATION

WASTES & HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES; Vol. 10, No. 9
December 18, 2002 Wednesday

Officials from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry spent Tuesday in Anniston, Ala., planning the agency's study of the health impacts of the city's PCB contamination.

In February, a jury found Monsanto and its spinoff company Solutia legally responsible for polluting the Anniston area and its residents with PCBs. According to company documents produced at the trial, Monsanto released tens of thousands of pounds of the suspected carcinogen into nearby creeks and buried millions of pounds in a hillside landfill during production. Although the company knew the PCBs were dangerous by at least the mid-1960s, it did not install pollution controls until 1970 (Greenwire, Feb. 25).

Already, the U.S. EPA is conducting a two-year investigation into which residents have been exposed to the PCB contamination. The ATSDR study, which requires at least six months to plan, could take an additional three years. "We're going to do this, the only question is when we're going to do it," said Henry Falk, assistant administrator of the ATSDR. "We're trying to determine what impact on health there has been from PCBs here."

The ATSDR study will examine whether cancer, neurodevelopmental deficits and other health problems are linked to the PCB contamination. The study under consideration would evaluate and track the health of a group of PCB-exposed residents and compare the results to an unexposed group.

Western Anniston community groups, environmentalists and politicians have demanded health investigations for the last few years without success. "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" (Sara Clemence, Anniston Star [subscription required], Dec. 18).

Copyright 2002 Environment and Energy Publishing, LLC
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