Morbidity Study at a Chemical Dump – New York

Details

• Journal Article:
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Personal Author:
  Rothenberg, R.
• Description:
  In June and August 1979, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducted industrial hygiene and engineering surveys and performed a cross-sectional medical study of 428 persons who lived or worked near the Hyde Park Landfill, a chemical disposal site just north of Niagara Falls, New York. Adjacent to the landfill are a metal-sand manufacturing plant employing 260 persons, a structural-steel fabricating shop employing 50 persons, and 2 small businesses. Bloody Run Creek flows north from the landfill, through a conduit under a shipping-drum manufacturing plant that employs 90 persons, through a residential neighborhood of about 50 persons, and, as an underground storm drain, along the edge of a private college that employs 90 maintenance workers. The landfill was used from 1953 to 1975 by a chemical manufacturer as a disposal site for an estimated 80,200 tons of chemical waste, including many chlorinated hydrocarbons. Following numerous complaints of odors, skin irritation, and metal corrosion attributed to vapors, mist, and dust from the landfill, a compacted clay cover was installed over the landfill in 1978, and a drainage system, around the perimeter in 1979. NIOSH investigators found lindane, mirex, and dioxins in parts per billion (ppb) levels in settled dust samples from rafters at all 3 companies, and all 3 substances were found in sediment from Bloody Run Creek. The medical study included an interviewer-administered questionnaire composed of sections excerpted, without modification, from the Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HANES), a nationwide health survey conducted from 1971 to 1973 by the National Center for Health Statistics; a limited physical examination focusing on skin, mucous membranes, thyroid, and blood pressure; a urine analysis; and blood tests for liver enzymes, hematologic parameters, creatinine, and, in a 20% sample of participants, lindane and mirex. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Blood Community Health Services Dioxins Environmental Exposure Environmental Pollution Hazardous Substances Hazardous Waste Hematologic Tests Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Occupational Health Safety Urine

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• Keywords:
  Blood Tests Chemical Hazards Chemical Manufacturing Industry Chemicals Community Health Cross Sectional Studies Environmental Contamination Environmental Hazards Exposure Assessment Exposure Levels Hazardous Materials Hazardous Waste Humans Industrial Hygiene Lindane Manufacturing Medical Surveys Organochlorine Compounds Physical Examination Sampling Urinalysis Waste Disposal Waste Disposal Systems Waste Treatment

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• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• ISSN:
  0149-2195 (print) ; 1545-861X (digital)
• Publisher:
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (U.S.)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  2 pdf pages
• Volume:
  30
• Issue:
  24
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20055534
• Citation:
  MMWR 1981 Jun; 30(24):293-294
• CAS Registry Number:
  Lindane (CAS RN 58-89-9) ; Mirex (CAS RN 2385-85-5)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1981
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f982f3d852df7b9d3ca99f1a2bbf227d265ae7f4cd59e7f7129d89d9bd1364616d6dbfecf50a919077131e2ca16de0e2790e3aa52a8e2724b10ffa2e29d2d11d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/183181/cdc_183181_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 267.03 KB ]