Document rpM24M23vmYLD8kkpDbOa17GG

! HAZARDOUS WASTE NEWS #73 From RACHEL: Weekly news and resources for citizens fighting toxics -- April 18, 1988 STU D Y OF D IO XIN -EXPO SED HUMANS REVEALS CANCER, B IR T H DEFECTS, LIVER AND C A R D IO V A SC U LA R DAMAGE A new stu dy of Vietnam veterans, conducted by A ir Force physicians, links dioxin exposu re to increases in cancer, birth defects, psychological damage, liver damage, cardiovascular deterioration, and degeneration of the endocrine system. The new work stops sh ort of sa yin g dioxin exposures caused th observable health damage among d io xin -e xp o se d vets, but it explicitly reve rse s the conclusions of a 1984 A ir Force study which said dioxin exposures had been shown to be harmless. The stu d y is continuing, and will begin u sing sensitive new blood tests to determine past e xp osures to dioxin; future stu d y may be able to pin down, o r rule out, direct causal effects. In the meantime, advocates of mass burn incinerators and other dioxinprodu cin g facilities can no longer claim lack of evidence that dioxin harms humans. There is now tangible cause for concern about serious effects of dioxin on humans. The new w ork is part of the A ir Force's ongoing stu d y of Vietnam veterans who participated in O peration Ranch Hand, which was a m ilitary program sp ra yin g herbicides on the jungles of Vietnam from 1961 to 1972, to defoliate and th u s e ra d i cate Viet Cong hiding places. In manu facture, the herbicides (Agents Orange, Pink, Green and Purple) were contaminated with dioxin (33 pf>m to 66 ppm [p a rts p e r m illion]). The stu d y compares two gro u p s of Vietnam veterans--one gro up of 1045 Ranch Hands who definitely had dioxin exposures and another g ro u p of 773 veterans not known to have been exposed to dioxin. In addition, 2708 wives and former wives of veterans in the two g ro u p s participated in the study. The stu d y team firs t reviewed more than 400 published articles on the effects of dioxin on animals and hum ans; from this they derived a profile of 190 different health effects that might be expected to be related to dioxin exposure. T h e y examined the 1818 s tu d y p a rtic ip a n ts for these 190 health effects. Cancer The stu d y found that 4.59% of the Ranch Hands have some kind of cancer, compared to 2 .3 3 % of the unexposed group. T h u s the overall risk of cancer among the dioxin-exposed group is doubled (risk increased by a factor of 1.97). The greatest risk increase is for skin cancers (where the risk is increased b y a factor of 2.6), whereas the risk of "system ic cancers" (non-skin cancers) is increased by a factor of 1.2; in other w ords, the d ioxin-exp osed gro u p has a 20% gre ate r chance of getting a non-skin cancer. Birth Defects Analyzing for birth defects, the study looked at children born before the Vietnam experience and children born after Vietnam. Prior to Vietnam, the dioxin-exposed group had born 85% as many children with birth defects as the non-exposed group; after Vietnam , the exposed g ro u p bore 139% as many children with birth defects. The earlier A ir Force study had said birth defects among dioxin-exposed families were limited to "m inor skin le sio n s" but the new stud y reverses that conclusion; 32 children with se ve re defects w ere b o rn to families in the exposed g ro u p , v s . 18 in the nonexposed group. The total number of birth WELCOME TO HEW READERS We got your nane fron friends who told us you are interested in solving the problen of tonics. It our nailing label says "Exdib followed by a min er, you will receive four tree issues of Hazardous Waste Hews; If you do not respond by the 4th issue, we will stop bothering you. If your label says "Special" we've sent you lust this one issue be cause we think its contents will interest you. Stories in the Revs are drawn fron a large pool of lnfornation in RACHEL, the Renote Access Chemical Hazards Electronic Library, a computerized database for use by the nedia, local governnents, schools, libraries, and citizen activists. Anyone with a tabletop computer (Apple, Coitnodore, IBM-PC or whatever) can dial into RACHEL with a noden and extract useful infornatlon. For free access to RACHEL, write us. 000075 defects in the two grou p s was: 80 with defects out of 917 total b irth s in the e x posed g r o u p v s. 48 with defects out of 744 total b irth s in the non-exposed gro u p . Psychological Damage Psychological testing revealed sign ifi cant increases in fatigue, anger, anxiety, and isolation among the dioxin-exposed grou p compared to the non-exposed g r o u p . Liver Functions The new stu d y looked at nine chemical measures of liver function and in three cat egories the dioxin-exposed group showed reduced liver functions, compared to the non-exposed g r o u p . In addition, amongthe e x p o se d g r o u p , 16 show ed e n la rg e d liv e rs, vs. six among the non-exposed group. F u rth e rm o re , 13 among the e x p o s e d g r o u p had a verifiable medical history of liver disorder other than hepatitis, jaundice, or cirrhosis, vs. only two with such histories among the non-exposed group. Cardiovascular system Heart disease rates and heart attack rates did not differ among the two groups. H o w e ve r, d u r i n g p h y s ic a l exam ination, 10 different heart pulse measurements were taken in the extremities ( e . g . , the ankle), and statistically significant abnormalities were found in one or more pu lse s in 12.8% of the exposed group vs. 9.4% of the nonexposed grou p. Abnormal pulses in the extremities are evidence of blood circulation prob le m s. Endocrine system The endocrine system is a body control system composed of a grou p of glands that maintain a stable internal environment by prod ucing chemical regulatory substances called hormones. G lan ds that participate in the endocrine system include the pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal glands, as well as the pancreas, ovaries and testicles. T h e new s t u d y looked at five chemical measures of endocrine system functions. In three of the five measures, the dioxin-exposed group showed abnormal functioning of the endocrine system, com pared to the n o n -e x p o se d g ro u p . F u n c tio n in g of the endocrine system reduces with age, but the new stu d y showed that, among the dioxin-exposed group, functionin g of the endocrine system is being reduced much faster than among the non-exposed group. T h u s the new s tu d y show s that, in six out of 11 areas of s u s p e c t e d d io x in effects, exposed Vietnam veterans have health problems in greater proportion than the comparison group. The Ranch Hand Study (formally known as the A ir Force Health Stu d y [A F H S ]) began in 1979 and is continuing. The most recent publication, reviewed above, is: Richard A. Albanese, United States Air Force Personnel and E xp o su re to H erbicide Orange, Interim Report for Period March 1984 - F e b ru a ry 1988 (U nited States A ir Force: Brooks A ir Force Base, T X , Feb., 1988). T h e stu d y is 34 pages long; it is available from Dr. Albanese, U SA F School of Aerospace Medicine, Human Systems Division (A F S C ), Brooks Air Force Base, T X 78235-5301; phone (512) 536-3884. O ur th a nks to Laura Petrou, a ssista n t to U .S . Senator Thomas Daschle (South Dakota), who made the stu d y available to us. Ms. Petrou can be reached at (202) 224-2321. Hazardous Haste Hews is published weekly by Environmental Research Foundation P.O. Box 5541 Princeton HJ 08545. The Foundation is non-profit} contributions are tax-deductible. Editori Peter Montague Ph.D.} Associate Editori Maria B. Pelleranol Assistant Editori Annette Eubank. The Hews is mailed first class every Monday. Subscription! $18 per year for individuals and non-profits $6 for students and senior acitizens, $150 for businesses. Back issues available on request. If you like the Hews send us note. SUBSCRIPTIOH ORDER FORM Hame Addressi Environmental Research Foundation P.O. Box 5541 Princeton, HJ 08545-5541 FIRST CLASS MAIL RETURH REQUESTED TO I i FIRST-CLASS MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID Princeton, HJ Permit Ho. 454 City I State anil Zipi