Residential Health Study of Families Living near the Drake Chemical Superfund Site in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania

Abstract

The Pennsylvania Department of Health conducted a health survey of a group of residents in the Lock Haven area who live in the immediate vicinity of the Drake Superfund site. A control group of residents were selected randomly from the remaining areas of Lock Haven. The study did not indicate the presence of any serious chronic health conditions in the exposed group of residents when compared with the control group. Significantly more individuals in the exposed group than the control group experienced skin problems and sleepiness for at least 1 month prior to the survey, indicative of a possible association between direct human exposure to toxic chemicals from the site and the manifestation of symptoms. The increased prevalence of the two symptoms may also have been caused by factors other than contaminants at the Drake site, e.g., stress, occupational exposure, or other etiologic agents, or it may be a spurious finding due to chance or biased reporting.

Health effects of residence near hazardous waste landfill sites: a review of epidemiologic literature.

“…Very little is known about the likelihood of air exposure from landfill sites through landfill gases or dust. At some of the sites described below, low levels of volatile organic chemicals have been detected in indoor air of homes near landfill sites (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13), in outdoor air in areas surrounding sites (14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20) or in on-site landfill gas (21). Other possible routes of exposure include contamination of soil, ground, and surface water, which may lead to direct contact or pollution of indoor air in the case of evaporation of VOCs into basements of nearby houses.…”

“…At the Drake Superfund Site, an industrial chemical dump in Pennsylvania, widespread on-and off-site contamination ofgroundwater, soil, and surface water with organic (benzene, chlorinated benzene, phthalates) and inorganic (arsenic, mercury) compounds prompted a cancer mortality and birth defects study (29) and a community health survey (16). Air monitoring near the site identified a small number of organic compounds, but the main exposure route was thought to be direct contact with surface waters and soil in recreational areas near the site.…”

The Drake Health Registry Study: Cause‐specific mortality experience of workers potentially exposed to beta‐naphthylamine

“…In 1983, the Pennsylvania Department of Health developed a comprehensive health surveillance program for both community members and former Drake employees in the Lock Haven area. While there was no evidence of morbidity related to exposure among the community at large [Logue and Fox, 1986], there was evidence of higher than expected prevalence rates for total cancers as well as skin and eye irritation among former employees exposed to BNA, herbicides, or pesticides [Marsh et al, 1988].…”

Evaluation issues in the drake chemical workers notification and health registry study

“…The Drake Chemical Workers' Health Registry and the events surrounding its implementation have been described elsewhere Logue and Fox, 1986;Marsh et al, 1988Marsh et al, , 1990. Briefly, workers were exposed to P-naphthylamine (BNA), a potent bladder carcinogen.…”