The
Columbus Dispatch
www.dispatch.com
River
Valley schools study: 2 cancers test higher than normal
Tom Sheehan
Friday, July 28, 2000
Leukemia and esophageal cancer have taken
a higher-than-normal toll on River Valley High School
graduates, according to results of a state survey issued
yesterday that confirmed earlier findings.
While cancer of the esophagus showed up at
10 times the normal rate, the overall level of cancer
was in line with national rates, the Ohio Department of
Health said.
In the past year, the department surveyed
1,726 of the 5,345 students who graduated between 1963
and 1999.
Robert Indian of the Health Department said
the survey showed eight cases of leukemia; three would
have been expected. Three cases of esophageal cancer showed
up; 0.3 would be expected for a group that size.
Whether toxic contamination found on the campus
of the high school and the adjacent middle school contributed
to the elevated disease levels hasn't been determined,
Indian said.
Three other students who attended River Valley
and one current student also contracted leukemia, the
study showed.
The report was issued last night to an advisory
group that meets periodically to discuss contamination
issues involving River Valley and other areas of Marion.
The River Valley school district is just east of town.
The cancer study was begun in September 1999,
broadening a leukemia investigation that was started in
1997 in response to toxic contamination on the 78-acre
school campus. The schools are on part of a 640-acre former
military depot that was used as a dump for chemical waste.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has
headed up the River Valley investigation, has said that
studies show that about 10 acres of the campus contain
elevated levels of contamination but health risks appear
to be minimal.
Some of that testing is flawed, a consultant
hired by the advisory committee said at last night's meeting
in Marion City Hall.
Bruce Molholt, an environmental toxicologist
from Pennsylvania, said the students should be relocated.
"The kids aren't safe at the school.
. . . I see there is a level of contamination for which
certain pathways still exist. Already, the graduates of
the school have a significantly increased cancer level.
This is not a healthy situation,'' he said.
Molholt said he teaches at the University
of Pennsylvania and has worked on contamination problems
in Toms River, N.J., which has experienced high rates
of cancer among children. He said he is particularly concerned
about airborne vinyl chloride contamination.
He said the soil has elevated levels of volatile
organic compounds -- primarily chemical trichloroethylene,
or TCE. The chemical is a solvent used to clean metal
parts; vinyl chloride, a known carcinogen, is a byproduct
of TCE.
Molholt said air monitoring for vinyl chloride
has been faulty and that students and others in the school
are being exposed to it.
Kevin Jasper of the corps of engineers and
Jeff Steers of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
defended the testing at the former depot site.
"The school is safe. We've got analytical
data supporting our position,'' Jasper said.
He said he would be willing to discuss better
testing procedures with Molholt.
In May, officials announced that the two schools
would be closed in three years and two new schools built
at another location if a multimillion-dollar package of
federal, state and local funding is approved. This month,
the Ohio School Facilities Commission voted to provide
$7.9 million as the state's share and the U.S. Senate
approved $15 million in federal cleanup money.
The school district plans to ask voters to
approve a $19.6 million bond issue in November. Part of
that money would be used for the new high school and middle
school; the rest would go to replace the district's three
aging, crowded elementary schools with two new ones.
School officials have said the combined approach
is the most cost-effective. If all of the funding is approved,
the high school and middle school will remain open until
the new ones are built.
The current campus would not be cleaned up
until after the schools close. That has caused concern
among some residents who worry that airborne chemical
contamination could affect students and others at the
schools during the next three years.
