Document BRwZq9goaQazJJMyMbDzvgLD8

i<j Medicat Sleuths f Fear of Toxic Materials Creates More Demand For Epidemiologists Dow Chemical Study Seeks Link Between 24 Deaths And Work at Texas Plant A Tedious, Frustrating Trail By GbokkUw Jassn Staff Heporar of Thjc Wall Stubt Joubbal It reads like a detective story. Twenty-four mm from a small* area i tlx Texas Golf Coast are mysteriously i of a rare disease, brats earner, tom have silted through thousands of 1 of, evidence and talked with people might know something about the case, far they don't knew whatcxused-1 ease. One theory hold* that thedeatte; related to the mm's work: AH 2Twera < pMyed at a Dow ChemicalCp, pj|fa( fat 1 pOB. ' { w; The detectives are* cal specialty whostudylhni earn in people. A typical teem ndggfil physicians, someofwfaew ksee is public health; ooe-phyriatana t aUK degrees in puhw health; <specialists hi classifying diseases^; i class, and clerk*. - ,,i Epldemiotogigtw are- hi demand** dm ever thaae days. As the pobtit I more, aware of health problem# cm toxic substances, pressure f corporations, and government show that products apdwerhhig-c are safe. A Household WaedT Dow, for example, has mocnl people working hu 1960s it bad .'one; Hills-based jobs, says i increased at least 1 year*-"How | Today dozens of! meat ata^e ^2. its i dh ctdas. r Outside thecMtil ____ ogical methods are being used to seek a I between tampons and tmdc shock syndrame^J "There will be emu more i Ralph R. Cook, Dow's chief *oMBnioioglib.| "The public Is auUrlny question?.'' Providing tye answers is costly. A physi cian with a doctorate in public dealt* caa earn about. 170.000 in tnduory. Union Car bide says its brain-cancer study wilt- coat 1230.1)08 Dow spciyto 1 a yeas for I " " * rnrinaiuOB * "-<>>?' 0l: L oOS v SX- TenCaotfy far 7* AiuMhe outtaya tea rWtafcKthepetata* which some smaller chemical compodar may be hard pressed. "There will be tre mendous distortions in the chemical indus try," says Btcyl Blafr, Dow's rice president for health and suriiumnaitsl sciences. "Small companies that don't hare the re sources will be shut out" The. case of the 26 Dow workers in Texas illustrates how much time, effort and money are consumed in epidemiological Studies, and how the inherent Impredskm ean lead two groups to draw different, conclusions in a single situation. It began far November IfTf, whew a worker at UnieB'CarMde1* plant not* far from Dow's wantdiagnosed as baring brain cancer. Ha buffertwo other, workers at the, plant who had dkd.d braintumors, and fa* called the Occupational Safety and Heaitlt Admintatratkani reytottk otifed- fll dear* Lake City, Texas, wonderi* If m diseas* could be rriatrt^pwrttBWfthrM^r: OSHA'ifro^aBd affire mrtnhfc turned two othet Iratftcam^d&hn-ait Caztftt workers. aaCtthtarfiM tsarorcseeadiacov-' end wan iM^uwr'noriklndhifr thr worker wfag> ippsa^rit QgHVWnorlfri cancan bean another part of fate OSHA aud thdonCMUean jetattyh gatinftiia^caiik But<-whti**^MEhtng^Anubcdo-canccF. deatW ajnann*rtids .workers. OSHA-fan vestlgstm diaefetumd* tttntmllar deatili among worlera at the DowChemfcal piaaf iu the same area. TSrttB. the mpp.'-jl ! - v / . t TSHA.competed the deaths among Boat wntkliWWilfcfrt rafts of* such deaths in BraaorirCOvWyr where tbt Dow plant Is located* It concluded that Dot* worken faced twice- a* muck, risk of con*: --Ifirtlag thetUaeaae as otherpeople.* Qi^wMch>as^ term*and-more eOhf Mod- qMteteta&iSiltfakT CarSdC quickly dfdib SBldf.T ' checked the work MOurlen that there-,wasn't'- Say-Utk^letse--' chemkalt Bay woft*#* and the* eaaw It aktiaakrtimf wMvdtVthd lor _ age at ths wectow Ifawgapifdir ofdaalhs i the ptut wmftr&Sxmjitte wtat tipnat average*/* ** It ooold be years beAiw (he finae tf so)ved.-BMgd on fM enmeat iLftaiihaii the brain <nuee*a are work related; pany ofBdala atU thtafctley aianfL OSHA andDow ayreediectnlKt > thorough*tnrmtigatWe. wMekha* been , ning for about a year; data-gatbering moulds be completed by ttala summer. About 2.Mu employes-a randan Hfc sample of the mom' than 68,088 men (women don't contract the disease nearly as often) who ham worked at the Dow plant since It opoied In 194*-are being studied. The two teams will share data but write separate reports, it'* tvm Atv. UCC 096395 ( OU&.^ Conthmed From Pint Pagt the cause*. Investigators ^ they now know don't trust each other. "Some government studies are fishing expeditions," says Perry Gehring, a Dow vice president. "They find anything they can catch."' On the government side, Victor Alexan der, an OSHA physician, says, "We encour whether nearly all of the sample is alive or dead; it wasn't easy to find out even that. Reviewing personnel records for date and cause of death and death certificates from three counties surrounding the plant was just the beginning. age companies to do all the epidemiology A list of names was sent to the Social Se they like. We also have an obligation to do curity Administration, in Washington to find the best job we can. We might want to look out whether a death claim had been filed or into things they don't." Questioned directly, where retirement benefits were being sent. however, both deny there's any mistrust, The names of those still missing were sent -just legitimate differences in methodology. to the Texas motor-vehicles bureau. Govern "It depends on how you slice up the infor- ment agencies can ask the Internal Revenue 'maticfn," says- J. William Lloyd, an OSHA Service for a last known address, and there epidemiologist. are high-school-and college alumni records Epidemiology isn't an exact science. Peo- .'and checks of local telephone books. "It's . pie. unlike laboratory animals, are exposed shoe-leather epidemiology." say* Dr. Cook. to many substances every day, and it's often < difficult to isolate the harmful ones. "Ifs ex. asperating," says Irving J. Selftoff, a pro* fessor of environmental medicine at Mount - Sinai School of Medicine in. New Yorfc I "There are no tnstant answers." ' And a study of cancer death* la always difficult. To begin with, there's stifi a lot to "yarn about the disease: Although,it's widely Agreed that environmental factors contrib ute to.moat cancers, there are dearly other Investigators may never know what workers wen breathing and handling in fee plant Before fee Occupational Safety and Health Act was passed tar 1970, few compa nies measured or analyzed chemicals in the workplace. Protective equipment, if' ft was available, wasn't always wont.`.`The compa nies don't know, pobody knows," says Mount Sinai's Dr, Sdikcft "Our inadequacies of fee past are coming home to roost.'' causes, too: Not all smokers contract lung Mon Stjslerie* cancer. Mr example, current reaandr Kerns to ftdkftte that several factors work ing together may sharply tnggeae the rfckFor'example, aabestoa workers wife, moke develop cancer at a far hftheftreitr than either smokers who don't work wife aabew*. too or asbestosworkers who don't ** Became cancer sometimes taken X to 3h years to develop, it's nearly tmpoastble to know all the substances fee vfctiiOt wereex Even wort htatortes deftt always kelp. Building names and-numbers have changed, as have manufacturing proesraes aDd job tips- The bow plant ft one of fee largest ft. fee world. Hundreds of chemical* are made there. and others ate used in fee manufeb tiwfegprocem. "Bveatf you know someone worked in an ettyhne plant for id yean, you may aot.be able to tell if he was at op- posed to. ldbal thing As Dow's would be Dr. Cbek to implant asmayosn, ito^r IinwraaptrtorduInctaionnstpaa-c-aemndistilaonsheidngc*oanrtorounl droaftmfeoer the right buttock at birth." Brain cancer present* stilt further prob lems. Because it is rare-aa estimated four stuff," saystGonkn Reeve, an epidemiolo gist wife fee National Institute of Occupa- tionai Safety and Heptfe. ilL .. - cases a year per 100,000 papulation-investi Worker* did slosh aroundin chemicals ft gators have few cases to wort with, A single- the eariy days of fen plant "Back, ft statistical error can affect results. What's lHa yen wenf ft wife your hand* more, brain cancer is frequently misdi washed tools, clothes and pans ft Ml > agnosed. , <Ll * tetrachloride," recallsQ.D. Kansnam AH of this means that wytaM jfte Qow's ktent of the FreeportMetat Tradm takes a long dm*, even tiftndh ltfcvoRwh an association-of oulaai. whs wanted only aJ% sample; And, fflfea criminal ft- ptpefltta* ft fee plaiL "They wonkfel let vesttpfeft, .fee doth tfehV tftmMhfi or drop of ft on the flfaus a--."Orb gtamswwn. Dr. Cboh ays "Tfengrcome # like the tfcfe. ft's dinPag with poper. iodide. once a comment uiaAeM has .been shows m eaner cancer ft labora ft BwfeertnpMferta are-final tory animate. StoRfec Throng* thn tSm t. Working conditions have- changed so Pemcnad records at Dow are filed alpha- ranch, ft fact. Ha* epfdendologtats nyh . heticaily. It would bneaUasferepIdemiaio- tint even If then was s problem yearn agiv gists if they were arranged by date of era- it may no longer exftt Iksy continue to be ptoymant or by department-feat way work concerned, however, hecanae so many wort ers who were hired at a particular dme- or ers still could face health problems caused . who worked in a particular department by previous exposures, or a cancel-causing could be reviewed -separately. When fee substance could remain. study started, there were w indexes. Many "The real potential danger ft that there's record* are on- mlcroOcbe, requiring re a chemical ft fee plant that no one sus searchers to spend hours-readlng eniarge- pects," says Dr. Alexander, the OSHA epi raentg anmadtiaea. demiologist- "We won't see the benefits of It takes a major effort just to determine improved controls, until the turn of the cen bow many former workers have died, and tury," r.W 1ft-* --. UCC 096396