Document YrDa1L153MmGzD7dQy7LwOB1D

----------------------- .. ' . ; , /Vv "`-v* v`..V SoiJJgt's head says evaluations were biased . .. , **' . .! V'* ^ TOSS By ROBERT L, PEIRCE CturUr-Jsyrad staff Wrlfar ?-TM7C92.4 million, federally financed pro- i JT^rain at the University of Louisville Vldealing with the health erfects of vinyl j #T,hloride on workers at the B. F. Good- * ;Vich Co. is ending under a cloud of con* *.JjflVersy. A page of background, 4? ^The controversy stems from a highly '"-critical evaluation of the program by an interpretation and commentary ^.^ifi'jdepcndent group of scientists last Sep- -Member. Four of the 11 scientists recom- 2 -mended the program be terminated im mediately, while five of them voted to pendent scientists later decided to allow weight than the later reports of tht 2 -let the project continue until its contract the contract to continue until it was stitute's team. '"'SSpired June 30 and two said the proj* * 'ect-should be extended. scheduled to end in late June, the criti cal evaluation found its way into the That is because, he said, ``there i interest for us always to make it "Some of the reviewers said U of L hands of U.S. Rep. David R. Obey, a evaluation) as good as possible bee: ^ "JivSs falling to fulfill some of the terms -mMhe government contract, financed by Wisconsin Democrat with close ties to labor. it is our program (financed by the < cer institute), I think the-indepenc v jfhe National Cancer Institute. Epstein said be tipped off a high- objective review by an outside gr C'`jhe three-year contract called on the ranking union official at the national certainly does carry a great deal n * 'oniverslty to develop early-warning AFL-CIO about the reports and -said weight." ; tests for workers facing the danger of a ,Obey's office was "a friend." Acton said the independent scien nffe; liver cancer believed to be caused Obey questioned officials of the Na evaluation of the final report, which bjr; exposure to vtnyl chloride -- an In tional Cancer Institute about the reports U of L group still must prepare, wt gredient in the making of plastic. of some of those scientists during appro be crucial. ILJ-of L also was to develop a program priation hearings in March on the insti If the evaluation is favorable, ` for educating workers on the problem tute's budget. He read sections of the negative report will disappear," he s - - -end for providing counseling to workers reports that contained such statements wflh liver cancer. Those programs were as "this is a dangerous program which However, the U of L group has b to-be something that could be used in should be terminated as soon as possi unable to deliver its final report offer Industries. ble." time. It was due at the end of 2The contract went into effect June 26, Dr. Diane Fink, director of the can month. The group is expected to ask 1975, in the midst of expectations that cer institute's Division on Cancer Con and to receive a 30-day extension Utcre would be a rash of cases of vinyl trol and Rehabilitation, which is respon prepare the report chloride-related liver cancer (the possi- sible for the contract, reptied by saying Verbal approval of an extension ' - bUity came to tight in 1974 when two the contract was being phased out given late last month during a Wash: c$Ses were noted). Dr. Carlo Tamburro, a nationally ton meeting of Tamburro and two ot ^During the project, only one case known liver specialist who heads the vi members of the U of L Cancer Cento showed up (a total of three occurred nyl chloride project, said some of the Louisville union official. U.S. Rep. between 1974 and the time the contract scientists in the review were biased. He mano Mazzoli. D-3rd District, and f went Into effect). said members of his group were not al officials of the National Cancer In Besides saying the terms of the con- lowed to give full presentations to the tute. trad were not being met, one of the committee. Meanwhile. Tamburro's request scientists In the review -- Dr. Samuel He noted that other independent com an 18-month contract extension and Epstein, a professor of occupational mittees of scientists bad previously giv ditional funds of more than S300,( medicine at the University of Illinois -- en the project high marks. And he was rejected, according to James J. > charged that U of L had a conflict of pointed out that a group of experts from vanagh, the cancer institute's contr interest by receiving money from the cancer institute, sent to Louisville officer who is handling the U of L p --'Tbemical Industries, as well as the gov after the critical evaluation, bad deliv ject ernment, to conduct vinyl chloride pro jects. He said the university put out Malse or misleading information down- '.grading the health dangers to Goodrich * workers. ered reports apparently softening the scientists' criticism. However, Ben E. Acton, special assis tant to Dr. Fink at the National Cancer Institute, said the critical evaluation by Sheldon W. Samuels, director health, safety and environment for t AFL-CIO industrial union department Washington, said Louisville unions volved in the project had asked whetl *'.H> A.11lthough another committee of Inde* non-government scientists carries more the AFL-CIO should use its influence At Xl_____ 04681' ^ get more funds. However, he said that. the team had refused to listen to a had not been developed, according to from what he had heard, there were lengthy presentation on the subject and. the evaluation. But Tamburro pointed problems with the U of L project and he thus, was mistaken in its evaluation. out that only one worker had come would do nothing until a final report A computer specialist who came with down with the cancer. He said a better had been received. the later cancer institute team said he project would be to develop a system Samuels, who was on the original thought no member of the first team of for helping workers deal with living un committee that approved the U of L scientists had "a particularly strong (if der the threat of cancer. . contract, was in Louisville Friday to dis any) background in either data process cuss with union leaders what the AFL* ing or Information management." Conflict of interest CIO should do about testing workers, be- --. . cause the U of L project is being phased -- , . out. (Goodrich, which has a chemical plant on Bells Lane, is required by law o_rts o,f t..he .in- twoorpkeerrfso.r.med certain health tests on The scientist who did much of the questioning on the computer system was Dr. Gary Cutter, a University of Texas statistician who is the deputy director of a program using computers to monitor thousands of people with high blood Epstein, the University of Illinois oc cupational medicine specialist, said his report had noted that U of L had a con flict of interest for accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from Goodrich i, "there is an > make it (an ssibie because ed by the cani independent, outside group eat deal more dent scientific iort, which the irepare, would After The Courier-Journal made a re quest under Kentucky's Open Records Law for the project evaluations. Tamburro made available a copy of a sum mary of the critical evaluation, other more favorable reports, letters of sup port from unions and Goodrich manage ment, memoranda from the cancer in stitute's team of experts, and a letter favorable to the project from Dr, Irving J. Selikoff. the well-known Mount Sinai School of Medicine physician who has pressure. Dr. Richard A. Greenberg, the epide miologist with the vinyl chloride proj ect. said the analysis was slowed be cause the U of L group was forced to switch from one computer to a larger, better one in the middle of the project However, he said medical histories and test results for individual workers were quickly available if the worker's physician requested it. and the Manufacturing Chemists Associ ation, an organization financed by the chemical industry. He said U of L had kept the grants a secret, although U of L officials said they had publicized them. After the evaluation, i cancer insti tute investigator checked whether U of L had mixed the institute's hinds with industry funds and concluded that the school had not, 'avorable, "the pear,*' he said. roup has been nal report on e end of this cted to ask for extension to studied the health effects of asbestos on workers. But Tamburro refused to release the individual reports from the team of sci entists. He said, in part, that the release of the individual reports would "add more confusion than clarity. ... They arc like table notes. They are not the official report." Some cancer institute officials said It was difficult to evaluate how good the medical tests were because only one person came down with the liver cancer during the three years of the project, he said. The university had expected an "epidemic" of cancers, he said. Even so, the computer system was successful in developing a way to keep track of the health effects of worker exposures to 22 chemicals, he said. Epstein claimed the money made the university biased toward the company, rather than the workers. He said some workers had told him they felt this way. He said this resulted in putting out newsletters understating the threat from vinyl chloride. Dr. Arthur H. Keeney, dean of the U of L School of Medicine, said project officials had tried to reassure workers extension was the reviewers thought that projects to However, new funds are necessary to while remaining concerned about the ing a Washing- and two other incer Center, a U.S. Rep. Ro* trict, and four develop tests to detect disease should not be undertaken unless it can be shown lives can be saved. There was little proof of this in the vinyl chloride project, the reviewers said. continue this project, he said. Even though the computer system was suc cessful, he said, there is no money to continue the project The reviewers also said the sample problem. George French, a business represen tative of one of four unions involved in the project. Pipefitters Local 522, and active in the vinyl chloride problem, Cancer Insti- From reading the available reports and interviewing scientists, labor and size for testing the effects of vinyl chlo said he did not believe the university ride on heart problems may have been favored management *s request for government officials, here is a sum too smalt ension and ad- mary of the criticisms and U of L's re However, he said some men might have feit that way because they inter than $300,000 sponse to them: Health education' preted Tamburro's testimony in a work o James J. Ca men's compensation case involving liver nute's contract, he U of L pro- The computer Tbe team of scientists and a health cancer a few years ago as favoring education specialist with the cancer in management director of snment for the department in illc unions in- asked whether its influence to The team of scientists said that mas sive amounts of information about workers and medical tests had been put into the U of L study's computer but not analyzed. There were questions about whether the information system had been properly designed. stitute who visited U of L later criti cized the effectiveness of the efforts to inform workers about the health pro grams. U of L was to develop and insti tute a health education model that could be used by other industries. Part of the problem, according to the Epstein contended that the contract required the school to emphasize find ing ways to keep workers from being exposed to vinyl chloride. Instead, he said, the university spent much of the time "subjecting workers to a wide range of investigations (tests), many of The information was to be used for determining which tests were not good at picking up health problems from vi cancer institute specialist: was that the which seem to have doubtful values to first director of health education was the workers, although they may have not effective in doing his job. had some academic interest." nyl chloride, so the tests could be elimi Later, the efforts improved, but no Keeney said the tests could be benefi nated, and to identify which workers good system had been established for cial, because they might identify work had higher risks of disease. proving which methods were the most ers who had greater risk of developing ucc 046313 Tamburro said the information was analyzed during the last six months. He said some of the medical-test evalua tions could not be done until the last effective. Dr. Ruby N. Isom said. Counseling, psychological help disease. Officials of the vinyl chloride project said they were not required to regulate exposures to vinyl chloride and could