McNamara wants study to look at MS cluster
By JOHN HOWELL
When Rep. Joseph McNamara read a Jan. 18 Beacon story about a cluster
of people with multiple sclerosis living in the area of Strawberry
Field Road south of the airport, the word "trichloroenthene" jumped
out.

McNamara had been reading "A Civil Action," the story of a lawyer who
took on W.R. Grace & Co. after a cluster of Woburn, Mass. residents
contracted leukemia. The lawyer, Jan Schlichtmann, brought action
against Grace for contaminating the ground water. Trichloroethylene
was identified as a chemical in the water.

Trichloroenthene (not trichloroethylene) has also been identified as
one of the chemicals contaminating ground water in an area south of
the former Leesona Manufacturing plant, now Strawberry Field Estates.
Trichloroenthene, a volatile organic compound, was used by Leesona as
a degreasing agent in the manufacture of textile machinery.

Since the detection of contaminated ground water about 10 years ago,
owners of the property have undertaken an extensive cleanup effort,
which is ongoing. Area monitoring wells have shown a dramatic
reduction in the plume of contaminated ground water emanating from
the former plant, according to the state Department of Environmental
Management.

"It could be a contributing factor. I have questions relating to the
effect of trichloroenthene on MS and other diseases," McNamara said
in a recent interview.

McNamara hopes to get some answers on Tuesday, Feb. 15 when as
chairman he convenes a meeting of the Special House Commission to
Study the Rhode Island Airport Corporation's Management and
Governance of Rhode Island's Airports. The meeting will be held from
7-9 p.m. in City Council Chambers and will focus on issues relating
to the impact of airports on the health of nearby residents.

While the MS cluster is near the former manufacturing plant, it is
also close to Green Airport and a now closed landfill where chemicals
were dumped.

Scheduled to speak at the meeting, which was originally scheduled for
Jan. 24 and postponed because of the blizzard, are Professor Richard
W. Clapp, Environmental Epidemiologist with the Boston University
School of Public Health, and Dr. John P. Fulton, PhD of the state
Department of Health.

"Although this [the MS cluster] is not the primary focus of the
presentation, it has to be taken into consideration," McNamara said.

McNamara has sent copies of the Beacon story to Clapp and Fulton, and
he said he would ask whom they would recommend to further study the
situation.

Elsie Lane and Rhonda O'Donnell brought attention to the apparent MS
cluster. They found that nine people with MS, who either work or live
within several blocks of one another, brought the condition to the
attention of the newspaper. Both women have MS and have lived in the
neighborhood for extended periods. Their objective is to learn who
else might have the disease in the area and hopefully generate the
interest and concern for a study.

Since the story, both women have received about a dozen calls with
information about people with MS who lived or live close by. Callers
have also inquired about the safety of buying homes in the area and
other diseases. Lane has also appealed to the state's congressional
delegation and state legislators in an effort to have studies done of
the area.

A study done by Dr. Fulton at the request of the Warwick Cancer
Council found the rate of lung cancer deaths higher than the state
average in several census tracts south of the airport, including that
where there appears to be a high rate of MS. Fulton's study found the
rate of mortality from lung cancer for males between 1987 and 2000 at
181.6 per 100,000 as compared to a state average of 106.8. The rate
of female deaths from lung cancer in the area is 110 per 100,000
compared to a state average of 55.

McNamara said he expects Fulton will reference the lung cancer study
in addressing the environmental impact of the airport.

Created by legislation introduced by McNamara, the commission is to
study the management and governance of state airports; review FAA
requirements and public safety issues relating to residential
populations adjacent to airports; and to study the relationship
between RIAC rules and regulations and local zoning ordinances and/or
comprehensive plans. It is to make a report and recommendations to
the House of Representatives this year