"It's hard for me
to believe how many people I have buried that are less than 50 years
old," Kretzmer told officials from the state Department of Health
after they presented the information to residents at a meeting at
Union-Endicott High School. "I see a bigger common denominator than
I think you're letting on. I don't have a whole bunch of statistics
or registry, but this is what I've seen with my own eyes."
The study included an area of about 300 acres polluted by
solvents first discovered seeping from the IBM plant on North Street
in 1979. It also included several blocks west of Jefferson Avenue,
polluted by an undetermined source.
It concluded that people living near the polluted area have
higher rates of birth defects, testicular cancer and kidney cancer
than would be expected. The study was undertaken after residents
learned they had been exposed to low levels of industrial solvents
pushing into basements through a process called vapor intrusion. The
study takes into account 22 types of cancers from 1980 to 2001. It
concludes that elevated rates of testicular and kidney cancers
during that time are "unlikely due to chance alone."
But it does not explain what caused them.
"Before any conclusion can be drawn, the issue requires further
study," said Robert Kenny, a spokesman for the Department of Health.
Testicular cancer is rare. Statistically, scientists would expect
to find 2.2 cases in the study area in 21 years. Six were
documented. Cancer of the kidney and renal pelvis is also relatively
rare. Scientists found 15 cases in the study area, where fewer than
eight were expected.
While the number of testicular and kidney cancers are low
compared to more common types of cancer, they are important because
they are unusual. In scientific terms, they represent statistical
"outliers" that alert scientists to the possibility of a larger
problem.
The study also found that heart defects were "significantly
higher than expected" for children born in the study area between
1983 and 2000, as were low birth weights for children born between
1978 and 2002.
About 60 people attended the 90-minute meeting. DOH research
scientists Steven Forand and Karolina Schabses gave an overview of
the study's methodology and findings.
The study has several limitations, Forand told the gathering. It
does not account for long-time residents who may have been exposed
to the chemicals but moved from the area before they developed an
illness. Conversely, it may include new residents who developed an
illness soon after moving to the neighborhood, although they may not
have been exposed to the chemicals for any significant length of
time.
Dave Bohrer, a 50-year-old former Endicott resident and
testicular-cancer survivor, is an example of someone who may have
been left out.
He lived on Tracy Street, in the polluted area, from 1981 to
1990. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1997, after he had
moved to Apalachin. Otherwise, he might have been case number seven.
The cancer was still in its early stages, which greatly increased
Bohrer's chances of survival. But it was a shock, said Bohrer, the
assistant managing editor of the Ithaca Journal and former
assistant sports editor of the Press & Sun-Bulletin.
"You suddenly think about your mortality, about your family and
the things you could miss," said Bohrer. He is now
cancer-free.
IBM Corp. spokesman Todd Martin pointed out that the study did
not determine a cause for the cancers, and that many factors can
influence cancer rates.
He also noted that some of the cancers were in the section west
of the IBM pollution.
"We've all had a friend or family member diagnosed with one form
or another of this disease, and we're cognizant of that," he said.
The area studied is polluted with trichloroethylene (TCE), a
solvent once used in the circuit board assembly process, and similar
solvents. Scientists discovered in 2003 that the chemical was
entering hundreds of basements as vapors.
IBM has installed systems to divert the chemicals from more than
430 properties.
TCE is listed as a "probable human carcinogen" by the federal
Environmental Protection Agency. A proposed revision of the EPA
guideline, now under review, lists TCE exposure as "highly likely to
produce cancer in humans." It documents an association of TCE
exposure with increased human kidney cancer and testicular cancer in
rats.
But there is little scientific consensus about how much a person
has to ingest, or for how long, before it is hazardous.
Other factors, such as diet, smoking and occupational exposure to
chemical hazards can also influence cancer rates.
Health officials will review individual case records of kidney
and testicular cancers, heart defects and low birth weights to
assess any contributing factors, and see whether additional study
could determine a cause, according to an overview of the evaluation.
Dr. Joseph Readling, an oncologist who is a partner in Broome
Oncology, said there is evidence that suggests exposure to toxic
chemicals can increase certain types of kidney cancers. The "jury is
still out" as to whether TCE exposure is a factor in the illnesses,
he said.
But the study, he added, is important.
"Whether people can get significant exposure to the stuff wafting
out of the ground -- I don't think anybody knows that," he said.
"This is sort of a first step in trying to get an idea whether there
is a connection that is significant."
For Kretzmer, who grew up on Endicott's Lincoln Avenue, there is
no question that the pollution caused the illnesses.
"I grew up around this," he said. "It was on my playground and my
paper routes. I remember seeing big ponds of liquid stuff that
wasn't water."
As he spoke at the meeting, he waved a stack of newspaper
obituaries. Kretzmer was diagnosed with Burkitt's lymphoma in 1982
at age 20.
Kretzmer said his condition has left him uninsurable and unable
to work for the better part of two decades. Kretzmer also spoke to
the DOH about the number of friends he has buried young -- something
he has a hard time accepting as coincidence.
But Readling said it may take years of more study to find
answers. And that may extend beyond the resources of the Department
of Health.
Cancer-incidence studies are not unusual, but finding
statistically elevated rates for particular cancers is.
The state has conducted 19 similar studies in communities
throughout the state since 2001. None found any elevated rates of
testicular cancer. Two found significantly high rates of kidney
cancer.
Reporter SCOTT
ROCKEFELLER contributed to this story.
