State looks for cancer clues in Clyde

By SARAH WEBER | Sunday, January 25, 2009 8:11 AM EST

CLYDE

Ohio Environmental Protection Agency officials recently likened pinpointing the cause of Clyde's cancer cluster to finding a needle in a haystack.

But that hasn't stopped them from launching a search of the hay.

EPA officials started environmental testing this month to take a broad survey of metals and toxins in Clyde's environment.

"What we're focusing on right now is two main areas -- drinking water sampling and air sampling," said Shannon Nabors, EPA northwest division chief.

They are looking for anomalies that raise a red flag, such as an unusual concentration of a metal or toxin -- anything that could be researched as a possible reason that almost 20 children in the Clyde-Green Springs area were diagnosed with cancer.

Researchers haven't found a link among them that might explain the illnesses. Environmental records turned up no smoking gun.

Until they find a suspicious substance to lock onto, EPA specialists are casting a wide net by searching for 80 to 100 chemicals and a slate of metals -- some of them known carcinogens -- in the air and water.

Three rotating air sampling sites are tested every 12 days, and one particle collector samples the air once every six days. All samples are taken over a 24-hour period.

Drinking water has been tested twice so far this month at various points in the delivery system.

Soil sampling is not currently being conducted because researchers think any contaminates in the soil that might affect the population would also be found in the water table.

Joe Grob, an air division environmental specialist, was at a testing location in downtown Clyde last week to retrieve a filter from an air particle sampler. He said the filter would be packaged with three others collected this month and sent to a lab for testing.

Researchers will use the filters to sample the Clyde area, hoping to determine what kind of metal particles are floating around the village and in what quantity.

The small air collectors stationed around the city resemble silver globes with a valve researchers open when they place the containers in the community. Slowly, over a 24-hour period, the globes fill with air. Then Grob travels around and picks them up.

The air canisters are sent to the lab, where researchers check the air for its concentrations of toxins.

EPA spokeswoman Dina Pierce said people in the Clyde community have been friendly and cooperative so far.

"The community has really come through and said, 'Hey, if you need a place to go, you can use my property,'" Pierce said. "That says a lot for the community as a whole. If there is an answer to be found, they want to help us find it."

The additional testing in Clyde is the result of a town hall meeting in December with the directors of the Ohio Department of Health and EPA, Dr. Alvin Jackson and Chris Korleski.

Korleski said the Clyde cancer cluster was the agency's top priority.

While the EPA scours the air and water, the Ohio Department of Health is conducting a spatial analysis of where the ill children live and spent their time.

The EPA plans to spend time this spring gathering a profile of pesticides released into the environment from local agriculture. This summer, the EPA will do a surface water study of streams and reservoirs in the area. The agency will test water and sediment, as well as fish and invertebrates.

"What we look for is to see if the wildlife has built up any contaminates in their tissue," Nabors said.

She said though the department is making its best effort to find clues about what might be causing childhood cancer, it may never find them.

"I guess what's important for the citizens to understand is that all the research and all the files we have right now don't show any alarming environmental conditions in the area," Nabors said. "We are trying to do as thorough a study as we can."

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