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Eastman Kodak is New York's top manufacturing polluter and one of the
largest emitters of cancer causing agents in the nation, regularly
releasing 64 different chemicals and known human carcinogens, such as
dioxin, into the environment.

Kodak operates their 2,300-acre facility in Rochester surrounded by
over 13,000 residential homes. In addition to being one of the
nation's top emitters of cancer-causing chemicals, Kodak is New York's
leading manufacturing polluter and the third largest water polluter.1

Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, their decades of pollution may be
taking a profound toll; especially for the 20% of the population
living within a quarter mile of Kodak that is under ten years old and
developmentally vulnerable to toxics.
contents
1.0 Emissions
1.1 Emissions and Health Problems
1.2 Emissions Data
1.2.1 1999 Emissions Data and Health Hazards Chart
1.2.2 Kodak's Pollution Ranking in NewYork
1.2.3 Kodak's Pollution Ranking in the United States
1.3 Dangerous Dioxin Emissions
1.4 A Snapshot of Methylene Chloride




710,206 people in Monroe County face a cancer risk more than 100 times
the goal set by the Clean Air Act.2
2.0 Health Problems
2.1 Cancer Rates
2.2 Childhood Cancer
2.3 Intensive Review of Childhood Brain Cancer Cases
2.4 Pancreatic Cancer
2.5 Cancer Mapping
2.6 Sensitive Populations
2.7 Reducing Cancer Risks
3.0 Links
4.0 Citations


1.0 Emissions
1.1 Emissions and Health Problems

High levels of cancer-causing chemical emissions from Eastman Kodak
have polluted Rochester's air and the Great Lakes Basin for many years.

Most recent Toxic Release Inventory data shows that Kodak is New York
State's number one manufacturing polluter and the top polluter in
Monroe County, where Kodak is headquartered.3

Monroe County ranks among the worst 20% of all counties in the country
in terms of an average individual's added cancer risk from hazardous
pollutants. In fact, 710,206 people in Monroe County face a cancer
risk more than 100 times the goal set by the Clean Air Act.4

Kodak's two antiquated on-site hazardous waste incinerators at the
Rochester plant release more dioxins and hexavalent chromium (a
carcinogen and respiratory intoxicant) than all the other tested New
York State (NYS) hazardous waste incinerators combined.5

But the problem does not stop with bad air. Monroe County, an
important watershed for the Great Lakes, is also ranked in the worst
20% of all counties in the country for toxic chemical land and surface
water releases. From 1990 to 1994, Kodak reported releasing:

the greatest amounts of carcinogens
persistent toxic metals
reproductive toxins

to any New York waterway: 2,764,467 pounds into the Genesee River,
which drains into Lake Ontario, a drinking water source for hundreds
of thousands of New Yorkers.6

Kodak regularly puts Monroe County in the top 10% among US counties
for air releases, water releases, total offsite transfers and total
production related waste. They are also one of the largest emitters of
cancer causing chemicals in America.7
1.2 Emissions Data

1.2.1. 1999 Emissions Data and Health Hazards Chart
1.2.2 Kodak's Pollution Ranking in NewYork
1.2.3 Kodak's Pollution Ranking in the United State
1.2.4 Graphic based on 2000 TRI Data for Monroe County
1.3 Dangerous Dioxin Emissions

See our Dioxin page here.
1.4 A Snapshot of Methylene Chloride

Methylene chloride is one of Kodak's main pollutants. The company
released 1,271,000 pounds of it at Kodak Park alone in 2000.8
Methylene chloride is also a potential carcinogen, according to the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Occupation Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) agrees and regulates it as a workplace
carcinogen.

Between 1990 and the Spring of 1997, outside air monitoring at the
KodaVista neighborhood fence line revealed an annual average level of
methylene chloride as high as 23 parts per billion (ppb). Recent
fence-line monitoring found increased air concentrations as high as 66
ppb. That is eight times higher than the Department of Conservation's
8 ppb guideline and nearly four times higher than the State Health
Department's guideline of 17 ppb.9 In 1997, The New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Division of Air
Resources recently established the annual guideline concentration for
methylene chloride to be .6 parts per billion, so the methylene
chloride levels surrounding Kodak are clearly unacceptable.

Accidents happen. But who is accountable when those accidents involve
potentially cancer-causing chemical spills? In 1995, for nearly seven
months, Kodak failed to discover and correct a faulty vent. This
careless oversight caused the release of about 30 tons of solvents
into the Rochester community's air, including more than 10 tons
(21,364 pounds) of methylene chloride.10

In 1997, Kodak announced plans to boost their production of polyester
base used for movie film. The consequence of heightened production is
a potential increase of 90,000 pounds of methylene chloride emissions
annually.11 In reaction to this, Kodak installed a new scrubbing
system in December 1997, to minimize environmental releases. However,
two weeks after they installed the system, it malfunctioned. Over a
six-hour period on December 17, 1997, about one ton of methylene
chloride spewed into the air.12
2.0 Health Problems
2.1 Cancer Rates

Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, Kodak's decades of pollution may
be taking a profound toll; especially for the 20% of the population
living within a quarter mile of Kodak that is under ten years old and
developmentally vulnerable to toxics.

According to the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer
Institute, Monroe County is in the highest 10% for mortality rates for
13 different cancers including:

breast
larynx
ovarian

Nine state, federal and community health investigations have
investigated the area's dramatic health problems. The New York State
Department of Health (DOH) found that between 1983 and 1995, 446
Monroe County children were diagnosed with cancer.13 The same agency
found "women living near Kodak Park had approximately an 80% greater
risk of developing pancreatic cancer," a debilitating, often fatal
disease.14
The unusual cancer levels have been publicized on television and radio
shows, in area newspapers, national environmental publications and the
Ladies' Home Journal, leading one new mother to call Citizens'
Environmental Coalition (CEC) before buying a home in Rochester. Once
informed of Kodak's emissions, the area's health problems and what she
could do to protect her family, she bought a home upwind of Kodak's
hazardous waste incinerators. Unfortunately, this is not a solution
for thousands of Rochester residents.
2.2 Childhood Cancer

Children are highly sensitive to the effects of toxic chemicals in the
environment (See Sensitive Populations for more information about the
particular sensitivity of children to toxic chemicals).

In 1997 alone, 33 cases of childhood brain and spinal cord cancer were
reported within a five-mile radius of Kodak Park.

After appealing to government agencies, health professionals and
others, some families resorted to a clearer appeal for justice.
Recently, the families of five children stricken with cancer filed a
$75 million class-action suit against Kodak in New York State Supreme
Court. They allege that Kodak's pollution caused their children's
cancer.15

Moreover, one Rochester-area mother uncovered the names of 119 Monroe
County children under the age of 21 diagnosed with cancer since 1994.
Of those children, 64 had diagnoses of central nervous system cancer:
cancer of the brain or spine.
In February 1998, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
(ATSDR) released a report on the apparent cluster of childhood brain
cancer in Monroe County. Their evaluation netted only the following
recommendations:

1. Health education for affected families and interested community
members about brain cancer and the relationship between brain cancer
and the environment;
2. An "intensive review" of all childhood brain cancer cases appearing
from 1976 to the most recent year;
3. Regular surveillance of the Monroe County incidence of childhood
brain/CNS cancer.16

The ATSDR evaluation also reported an "excess of thyroid cancers in
young girls in Monroe County."

Although thyroid cancer was not the focus of this evaluation, the
numbers of reported cases in children drew the attention of ATSDR
investigators. Three of these cases were diagnosed in 11- and 12-year
old girls between October 1996 and March 1997. These numbers indicates
that there may be an excess of thyroid cancers in young girls in
Monroe County.17

So what do these studies mean and exactly who will fund, perform, and
report on the follow-up studies recommended by ATSDR? Since ATSDR has
experienced past public criticism18, can the agency be trusted to
produce unbiased studies? Clearly, the limited cancer studies
conducted to date reveal some staggering statistics that beg a number
of questions:

What other disease trends are yet to be uncovered in Monroe County?
Is there a relationship between the toxic chemicals in the community
and the illnesses experienced?
Can government agencies produce credible studies?
2.3 Intensive Review of Childhood Brain Cancer Cases

In response to pressure by parents, Agency for Toxic Substances and
Disease Registry (ATSDR) conducted an initial assessment of childhood
brain and spinal chord cancer cases in Monroe County, calling for an
"intensive review" of all cases occurring from 1976 to the present
date and health education for affected families interested in the
relationship between brain cancer and the environment. Any substantive
review has yet to be made public, however.

ATSDR should hire a team of independent scientists to conduct an
intensive review of childhood brain cancer cases. This investigation
should particularly focus on any possible links between Eastman
Kodak's major dioxin and other toxic releases and the alarming number
of childhood brain cancer incidences in Monroe County. The ATSDR
should hold a public meeting in order to inform the public about what
they have done to begin the process of undertaking this intensive review.
2.4 Pancreatic Cancer

Health studies indicating risks from Kodak's pollution emissions are
of great concern to Rochester residents. In 1995, a study by the New
York State Department of Health (DOH) concluded, "Women living near
Kodak Park had approximately an 80% greater risk of developing
pancreatic cancer", an aggressive and usually fatal disease. Likewise,
"the study documented 32 cases of pancreatic cancer among women living
near Kodak Park over an 11-year period, versus an expected norm of 19
[cases]."

That same study reported that women who have pancreatic cancer are
nearly twice as likely to live near Kodak Park as any where else. The
study also uncovered "a pattern suggesting increasing risk with
increasing exposure." The longer women live near Kodak Park the
greater their likelihood to develop pancreatic cancer. "When only the
women who had resided in the area for at least twenty years were
considered, living near Kodak Park was associated with a 96% increased
risk for pancreatic cancer."19
2.5 Cancer Mapping

One way to assess health outcomes related to toxic exposures is
through cancer mapping and statistical reports, utilizing the
country's oldest Cancer Registry at the New York State Department of
Health (DOH).

For several years, Citizens' Environmental Coalition (CEC) has pressed
DOH to release targeted cancer maps, especially in areas like Monroe
County where suspicious cancer clusters exist. Finally, in December
1999, DOH released the first in a series of maps showing the incidence
of various types of cancer. Unfortunately, the maps excluded
testicular and prostate cancer (associated with endocrine-disrupting
chemicals emitted by Kodak), central nervous system cancers, leukemia
and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (of particular concern to parents living
near Kodak).

Widely criticized, the maps used broad gradations (20 to 40%) instead
of the more common 10% that provides a more precise picture of county
cancer rates. Still, the report reveals that Monroe County cancer
rates rank above the norm.20

The DOH needs to release targeted, accurate cancer maps that may be
linked to high emissions of endocrine disrupter, including the
incidence of central nervous system, testicular and prostate cancers,
and leukemia in Monroe County children. There should be useful
neighborhood, city and county maps. Maps should use gradations of 10%
that provide a more precise picture of county cancer rates as opposed
to gradations of 20-40% like was done in 1999. Increasing Monroe
County cancer rates, especially in children, necessitate these
targeted and accurate maps.
2.6 Sensitive Populations

Sensitive Populations are vulnerable groups of people whose health
will be particularly threatened during an environmental accident at
Kodak. Emissions from the accidents that take place at Kodak each year
could potentially impact thousands of children, put seniors at risk,
and compromise environmental justice.

Children
Twenty percent of the population living within a quarter mile of Kodak
Park is under 10 years old and regularly exposed to toxic chemicals.
Twenty-one schools are located within three miles of the Kodak
facility. Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know
Act, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
listed six grade schools and eight high schools as part of the
population particularly sensitive to Kodak's annual fugitive releases
of toxic chemicals, meaning, they are most vulnerable to one of
Kodak's average 100 accidental spills and releases each year. As in
1990, when after a chemical spill, a grade school had to be shut down
for air quality testing inside classrooms because chemical
contamination was found on school property. Children are highly
sensitive to the effects of toxic chemicals in the environment.
Proportionately they breathe in more air, eat more food and drink more
water than adults. They spend more time outdoors, on the ground and
are more likely to put their hands in their mouths, exposing them to
potentially contaminated dust and soil. Because a child's body is
still forming, these chemicals interfere with vital growth and
development. Dioxin is particularly insidious because it attacks our
DNA and enters the very nucleus of our cells where it alters hormone
regulation and development.

Children are perhaps most sensitive to the effects of toxic chemicals
because their bodies are still in critical stages of growth and
development. Proportionate to adults, they increase their rate of
exposure to toxics by breathing more air, eating more food, and
drinking more water. They also engage in outdoor play and frequent
hand to mouth activity, greater exposing them to air and soil toxics.

18% of the population living within a ½ mile of Kodak is under 10
years old. Within a quarter mile of the 2,300-acre facility, 20% of
residents are under 10. That equals over 700 children exposed to toxic
chemicals on a daily basis.

In 1997, under the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act,
the DEC said the following school populations are particularly
sensitive to Kodak's annual fugitive releases:

School #7 (K-6) Southlawn School (K-3)
Buckman Heights School (3-5)
Parkland School Nazareth Academy (9-12)
St. Margaret Mary School (K-6)
School #41 (K-6)

Dangerous contaminants were found in the schoolyard of School
#41 after a 1998 accident at Kodak Park. The school was shut down so
that indoor air quality testing could be done in the classrooms.

Sacred Heart School (K-8)
Greece Olympia High School (9-12)
Rogers School (4-6)
Hoover Drive School Benjamin Franklin School (9-12)
Marshall High School (9-12)

Seniors
Another sensitive population to Kodak's pollution is the elderly.
Close to Kodak's facility is the Maplewood Nursing Home and just east
of the site 1,558 people 65 years and older represent over 22% of the
population. A lifetime of chemical exposure coupled with a weakened
immune system can put elderly people at greater risk of suffering the
adverse health effects of toxic chemicals.

Environmental Justice
Meanwhile, environmental justice is an issue for families living
within half a mile of Kodak, where the average household income is
$7,343 lower than the county average. Within a quarter mile of Kodak,
residents of color make up over 20% of the population. Our Kodak
campaign seeks to address the disproportionate environmental health
effects on vulnerable populations in Monroe County.
2.7 Reducing Cancer Risks

To help reduce the cancer risks that Rochester area residents face,
Kodak needs to comply with EPA's "Policy on National Air Toxics
Program: The Integrated Urban Strategy".

This Urban Strategy calls for the least possible toxic emissions in
densely populated areas such as Rochester. Over 13,000 families live
along the perimeter of Kodak's 2,300-acre manufacturing facility, with
20% of the population under 10 within a ¼ mile of the facility. The
objective of the Strategy is to move away from assessing toxic
reductions in tons per year, and "towards a focus on estimating
reductions in cancer and non-cancer risks associated with lower
emissions."

EPA's goal is to "achieve a 75-percent reduction in cancer incidence
attributable to Hazardous Air Pollutants emitted by stationary sources."

In light of Kodak's standing as one of the country's largest emitters
of cancer-causing pollutants; increased pancreatic cancer among women;
and an unusual children's cancer cluster, Kodak needs to take
substantive steps to achieve this reduction. We urge Kodak to:

1. Make a commitment to phasing out and ultimately shutting down
Kodak's two hazardous waste incinerators: Building 218 and Building
95. Kodak can utilize source reduction techniques and alternative
technologies to eliminate the waste streams going into these incinerators.
2. Finance an independent investigation of the health effects in the
Rochester community.
3. Install ambient air monitors to notify people when toxic emissions
enter neighborhoods.
4. In conjunction with NYS, do a comprehensive risk assessment of
Kodak's toxic releases. This should be done with wind pattern analysis
to identify whether Kodak's dioxin emissions are reaching St. Lawrence
County, a top dairy producer in NYS.
5. Develop and implement a plan to reduce Kodak's toxic emissions so
Rochester can work towards a 75% reduction in cancer rates in
accordance with the EPA's "Policy on National Air Toxics Program: The
Integrated Urban Strategy."
3.0 Links

Scorecard is a helpful source for free and easily accessible local
information on toxic releases. Simply type in a zip code to learn
about environmental issues in your community. Scorecard ranks and
compares the pollution situation in areas across the US. Scorecard
also profiles 6,800 chemicals, making it easy to find out where they
are used and how hazardous they are. Using authoritative scientific
and government data, Scorecard provides the most up-to-date and
extensive collection of environmental information available online.

*

Kodak demographics fact sheet
*

"Monroe Cancer Rate Above Norm", Democrat & Chronicle, 12/10/99
*

EPA's "Policy on National Air Toxics Program: The Integrated
Urban Strategy"
*

New York State Department of Health cancer maps

The mission of Health-Track, supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts,
is to help American families and communities identify and track the
links between environmental hazards and illnesses and to provide
researchers and public health officials with the necessary tools to
prevent disease.

Two statutes, Section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community
Right-To-Know Act (EPCRA) and section 6607 of the Pollution Prevention
Act (PPA), mandate that a publicly accessible toxic chemical database
be developed and maintained by US EPA. This database, known as the
Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), contains information concerning waste
management activities and the release of toxic chemicals by facilities
that manufacture, process, or otherwise use said materials. Using this
information, citizens, businesses, and governments can work together
to protect the quality of their land, air and water.

4.0 Citations

1www.scorecard.org

2www.scorecard.org

3www.scorecard.org

4www.scorecard.org

5New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Comparison
of Average Emissions for New York State Waste Combustors. October 20,1995

6Environmental Working Group, United States Public Interest Research
Group. Dishonorable Discharge: Toxic Pollution of New York Waters.
September 1996. Tables 3,7,8,1.
7www.scorecard.org

8www.epa.gov/triexplorer

9Ireland, Corydon, Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, NY. Page 1A. May
15, 1997.

10Ireland, Corydon. Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, NY. January 19,
1998

11Ireland, Corydon, Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, NY. Page 1A.
May 15, 1997.

12Kodak Incident Report, NYSDEC #9710609. December 17, 1997

13The Incidence of Tumors of the Brain and Central Nervous System
among Children in Monroe County, New York - Data Through 1995. NYSDOH

14New York State Department of Health Bureau of Environmental and
Occupational Epidemiology. Pancreatic Cancer Among Women in an Area
with Potential Exposure to Methylene Chloride (Dichloromethane). March
1995

15Ireland, Corydon, Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, N.Y. Page 4B.
March 24, 1998

16U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry Atlanta, Georgia. Evaluation of
Childhood Brain Cancer Investigations in Monroe County, New York. Page
8. February 1998

17U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry Atlanta, Georgia. Evaluation of
Childhood Brain Cancer Investigations in Monroe County, New York. Page
8. February 1998

18Environmental Health Network, National Toxics Campaign, Inconclusive
By Design. May 1992

19New York State Department of Health Bureau of Environmental and
Occupational Epidemiology. Pancreatic Cancer Among Women in an Area
with Potential Exposure to Methylene Chloride (Dichloromethane). March
1995

20Ireland, Corydon. Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, NY. December
10, 1999