Several members of a Fernald health advisory committee are questioning whether the public wants or needs another multi-million-dollar study focusing on lung cancer risks linked to the former uranium processing plant.
Instead, they want more information about whether Fernald caused other health problems such as cancers of the kidney, breast and colon, miscarriages, birth defects or learning disabilities. "I cannot see the benefit (of another lung cancer study)," said Edwa Yocum, a Harrison resident and member of the Fernald Health Effects Subcommittee. "I feel that we need something that would be of more value to the community."
The 17-member subcommittee met Wednesday and Thursday at the Plantation banquet hall in Harrison. The group was formed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other government agencies to give advice about what sorts of Fernald-related health studies should be conducted.
At stake are several million dollars in public studies and answers to continuing health questions about Fernald. After more than a year of meetings, serious debate about the studies is just beginning. From 1951-88, the Fernald plant processed uranium ore into uranium metal, which was then shipped to other plants for use in making nuclear weapons. Experts estimate that Fernald neighbors during those years were exposed to about 340 tons of uranium dust and 170,000 curies of radon gas emitted from the plant.
A "dose reconstruction study" released last year in draft form reported that the pollution caused an increased cancer risk for people who lived near the plant for many years. The big culprit was the radon gas, and experts say the biggest risk from radon gas is lung cancer.
What scientists do not know is how many Fernald neighbors developed lung cancer. Getting an answer requires an epidemiologic study, which tries to identify all the people who lived near the plant, count how many contracted lung cancer, then see if those who did also were exposed to high doses of radon gas from Fernald.
Such an effort would take several years and would cost several million dollars, said Dr. Owen Devine, a member of the CDC's radiation studies branch. In fact, it will take until February just to determine whether the study is feasible.
The question the health committee debated this week was: Why bother?
One of the biggest benefits from an epidemiological study would be data about the health effects of low-level, long-term radiation exposure. Few studies have been done, Dr. Devine said.
But Dr. Larita Frazier-O'Bannon, a family physician who practices near Northgate Mall, said people with current health problems cannot afford to wait for another multi-year study, especially one that focuses exclusively on lung cancer. What Tristate doctors really need is quick, specific information about what to look for when treating patients who lived near Fernald.
Changing the focus of the health studies can be done, Dr. Devine said. But if the committee wants risk estimates for illnesses other than lung cancer, the CDC would need to put off work on the lung cancer study. "We have limited resources," Dr. Devine said.
Committee member Robert Hanavan, a Fernald neighbor, said a few million dollars for an epidemiological study "would be peanuts" compared to the billions spent building nuclear weapons and cleaning the polluted production sites.
"It was fine to spend all that money before, but now when we're talking about the people who were affected, you're pinching pennies. That's ridiculous," Mr. Hanavan said.
Adding another wrinkle to the debate, several former Fernald workers complained that the health studies discussed so far have focused on neighbors, while excluding workers.
"What about the people inside the fence line?" said committee member Louis Doll, a Fernald union representative.
At least one study has linked lung cancer to workplace exposures at weapons plants, CDC officials said Thursday. To learn more, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health plans a bigger study of lung cancer involving several weapons sites. However, it has not been decided whether the study will include Fernald workers.
