subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite mapBuy a Classified
Tue, Nov 10 2009 

Published: August 01, 2008 09:13 pm    print this story  

LOVE CANAL: Flaws in health study

Lois Gibbs and Stephen Lester call final study incomplete

By Dan Miner
E-mail Dan

Niagara Gazette

Thirty years later and Lois Gibbs still doesn’t have the full scope of the toll her former neighborhood took on her former neighbors.

Gibbs was in town Friday to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Love Canal — specifically the day state Health Commissioner Robert Whalen ordered his declaration of emergency.

As usual, Gibbs came with a message: The state’s new attempt at a health study falls far short of what’s needed.

“The data is fine, it’s just incomplete,” she said. “It’s very limited and it still finds that children born between 1983 to 1986 from parents of Love Canal are three times as likely to have a birth defect.”

Both Gibbs and Stephen Lester, science director for the Center for Health, Environment and Justice science director and a state on-site science expert at Love Canal in the late 1970s, spoke and issued a detailed report Friday about the perceived problems with the study.

Among their notable concerns were that the Department of Health did not set up a registry for every resident who lived in the neighborhood at the time, did not conduct interviews with residents, only collected data from databases with numerous limitations and only includes a small number of former residents.

It does not include children with birth defects born before 1983 and the diseases and health conditions of residents while they were living in the neighborhood.

“It appears that the (DOH’s) efforts were intended, once again, to minimize the findings of adverse health outcomes in the residents of Love Canal,” the study summarizes. “Unfortunately, Love Canal families are no more informed by this study than they were in 1980.”

The study, which began in 1996 and a draft of which was released in October 2006, found increased rates of birth defects and higher than expected rates of kidney and bladder disease, according to the CHEJ report.

DOH officials responded Friday to the criticism of the study in a statement, saying it has not yet been finalized and they were proud of the work done on Love Canal.

“This work is undergoing an extensive peer review,” the statement said. “The studies are independently reviewed by scientists outside the health department with expertise in the field to make sure the study meets scientific standards and that any problems will be addressed ... We have included experts on the study’s advisory committee and community consultants who were who were former Love Canal residents. We have issued newsletters on our progress, met numerous times in open meetings and have to be straightforward and open.”

So what now?

Gibbs and Lester hope the state lets the former residents of Love Canal know the findings of the study so at least they can be informed.

“The responsible action for (DOH) is to alert former residents of the adverse health effects found, including increased rates of birth defects and higher than expected rates of kidney and bladder cancer,” the CHEJ report says. “Sadly, this final study fails to provide the victims of Love Canal with any new insight into the impact of exposure to chemicals from the toxic dump on their health today and for future generations.”

print this story  



autoconx
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Premier Guide

Find a job! Find a Home! Find a car!

Featured Jobs

FLOOR ASSISTANT
Floor asst. needed for approx. 30-35 hrs/wk in a podiatry office, no exp. nec., will train, call between 12-2:30 pm for ...>MORE

Customer Service
Customer
Service
Immed. F/T position.
Includes weekends. Must be customer
oriented, computer
...>MORE

Customer Service
Customer Service
CARPET CLEANING
$400-$600/week
Our customers have cleaning fever. Openings for men & wom
...>MORE

Cook Manager
COOK /Manager full time exp. req. Call for appt. 297-2500 ask for general manager. ...>MORE

Certified Pharmacy Tech's & Certified Medication Tech's
Certified Pharmacy Tech’s & Certified
Medication Tech’s Competitive wages. Call Lisa McKensie Ransomville Manor 79
...>MORE

Assistant Director
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Alumni Relations (ft) sought by the Alumni Relations Department of Niagara University, a private
...>MORE

Nursing
NURSING. ElderWood Senior Care, "Care Without Compromise". We invite you to stop by and learn how you can become part of...>MORE

Packers
Packers, General
Production & Assembly
1st, 2nd and 3rd shifts
Sanborn, Tonawanda
& Amherst.
Re
...>MORE

Auditor/Accountant
CIVIL SERVICE EXAMS
EXAM DATE: 1/9/10
FILING PERIOD:
11/9/09 -11/25/09
Applicants for both exams mu
...>MORE

Activities Director
Activities Director FT AS Degree and /or or 3-5 yrs exp working in adult home. Send Resume To: Ransomville Manor at 35...>MORE

See all ads

Feature Autos

Ford 1995 Crown Victoria
Ford 1995 Crown Victoria 4 dr, loaded, new tires must see & drive $3500. red. 860-2854...>MORE

Buick 2005 LeSabre
BUICK 2005 Lesabre Custom, excellent condition, fully loaded, $6700 or best offer, 754-4540...>MORE

Dodge 2001 Neon
Dodge 2001 Neon 4 dr, auto, a/c, new tires, c/d no rust, inspected, $3900. white 860-2854...>MORE

Pontiac 1999 Montana
PONTIAC 1999 Montana 57,000 original miles, full options, like new, $3300, 694-0441...>MORE

Ford 1999 Ranger
FORD 1999 Ranger, 5 speed, 130K, fair condition, $2000 or best offer, 716-310-0531...>MORE

VW 2001 Beetle
VW 2001 Beetle, loaded, GLX turbo, exc. cond, all service records, fun to drive, blue bk $5600, take best offer, 990-06...>MORE

Mazda 1995 Millenia
Mazda 1995 Millenia loaded, leather, only 26k mi. exc. cond. $2995. Best Offer
531-3548 or 297-1526
...>MORE

2000 Dodge Caravan
DODGE 2000 Caravan, V6, power everything, excellent body, runs great, $2195. Call 754-4608....>MORE

Chevy 2003 Impala
CHEVY 2003 Impala
25,600 miles, loaded
Exc. Cond. $10,000/bo
297-2199
...>MORE

1995 Plymouth Neon
Plymouth ‘95 Neon, 4 cyl, auto, 4 dr, exc in & out, 1 owner, only 56k orig. mi, no rust. $2195. 523-7102 ...>MORE

See all ads





 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2009. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index