Residents raise concerns about PCB - disease correlation
By: Luis Filipe Dias 05/30/2008
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NEW BEDFORD - Maria Bicho and her husband liked to get their hands dirty.
The couple, who in 1988 built their home next to the McCoy field, spent countless hours meticulously caring for their lawn that now overlooks the new Keith Middle School.
Her husband, Ceasar, no longer can do what he enjoyed the most - working on his house with his hands.
He began showing symptoms of Parkinsons disease in 2004, and the couple questions if there is a connection between the disease and the location of their house - which was built next to a former city burn dump site contaminated with probable human carcinogens like PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), heavy metals and semi-volatile organic compounds
"My husband is very sick, I have been always wondering if it's because of the site," said Maria Bicho. "We had our hands in the soil."
In 2000, pollutants were discovered in the area after the city found contamination across Hathaway Boulevard at McCoy Field when that site was proposed for the new $70,000,000 Keith Middle School in 2000.
New Bedford High School was built on the site and is contaminated with PCBs.
Across the street from Bicho's house, her neighbor Barbara Bernard has lived in the area since she was five years old, when in 1947 her father bought land on what was a farmstead.
"My father told us not to go and play there, he was very perceptive not to allow us to play there," said Bernard.
"There were big spools of wire, bins and canisters all over the place. We knew it was on a toxic dump," she said.
She stated that she is not worried about PCB levels in the soil of her house because she lives up hill. Her father lived until he was 88 and her mother until she was 94. All her siblings are in good health.
However, she is concerned for those who live at the bottom of the hill, on Summit St.
Brian Woolley has lived in the area since 1961. As a kid he couldn't get enough of exploring his neighborhood, spending hours upon hours traversing the dumpsite.
"It was a working dump till the early 1960s. There were no fences up, it was an open area," said Woolley. "We knew it was a dump for industrial waste, but we didn't know what was in it. My brother is fine. He didn't play in the dump as much as me. I was always in there."
Woolley was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 1976. He was able to fight off the cancer with a combination of radiation and chemotherapy.
But recently, his legs often cramp and stiffen up, his body aches and he has a hard time speaking for long periods.
His doctors think that he might have a progressive neurodegenerative disease - amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - which is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
Those suffering with ALS have an average survival rate of three to five years.
According to published research the age-adjusted incidence rate of Hodgkin's is 2.8 per 100,000 people, while the incidence rate of ALS is 1 to 2 per 100,000 people.
A study conducted by the state Department of Public Health found a 72.7 percent greater risk of ALS incidence in Middleboro compared to the national rate. That cluster of ALS cases was found around two waste disposal sites.
Woolley, a parrot head admirer of Jimmy Buffet, is not bitter, nor does he blame anyone - he just wants to keep on fighting.
And he has been fighting for a while.
As a community activist, he is one of the founders of the "Wasted Away," a neighborhood group which actively opposed the construction of the middle school on the contaminated site.
"The new school should have never been put up. It should have been cleaned up, not covered up," said Woolley.
"The former administration was so gung-ho on building because of the 90 percent matching funds. I am more relieved now, that the city, has acknowledged the problem in our neighborhood," he added.
On June 4, the Department of Public Health will start conducting interviews to access the risk of exposure to PCBs. People who have worked at New Bedford High School or Keith Middle School, or residents who live near the schools are eligible to participate, according to Suzanne Condon, director of the state's Bureau of Environmental Health.
Last year the agency offered to conduct PCP blood testing, but according to Condon the testing was delayed because the agency pursued federal monies that never materialized.
The testing will be funded by the state at a cost of $75,000 to $100,000.
It will initially consist of a screening interview. Those found with the greatest risk for exposure will be offered blood tests later in the summer. The state is hoping to put together a geographical map comparing the levels of PCP to incidences of cancer.
Condon stated exposure to PCP has been linked to several cancers and low birth outcomes, small cranial development and lowering of I.Q. levels.
"It is important to identify who is at high risk," said Condon.
Asked if PCP is linked to what is afflicting Woolley, she said no.
"PCP hasn't been involved as much with Lou Gehrig's disease," said Condon. "Exposure to certain metals and pesticides could have been a trigger."
"I don't know what was found (at the dump site). I know that PCP's were there. I know that PCDS where also present. When we conducted the Greater New Bedford PCP Health Affect Study a few years ago, there was a lot of metal contaminates in the river. I wouldn't be surprised if there was lead, copper and other things (at the dump site)," she added.
But Woolley knows that something has afflicted those who live and work in the area.
He didn't want to share a letter in which he compiled and documented people that had died in the area with cancer. He has more than 25 names of former and current teachers at New Bedford High School with cancer.
"They had to close certain rooms in the school and it is amazing that some of these teacher are still there," said Wooley.
Whether or not a person develops health issues from exposure to PCPs depends on how the person was exposed and for how long they were exposed to the substance," he added.
Anyone interested in participating in the testing should schedule an interview by calling 1-877-361-1814 or email NewBedfordPCPSurvey@JSI.com.

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