Determining
effects on workers in
ANDY
DWORKIN
A big federal spending bill
holds a small gift for two
It's a small fraction of the
$1.8 million or more needed to finish the study of worker health, said Michael
Heumann, the state Department of Human Services epidemiologist planning the
research. But the money will let him and a co-worker start a baseline study
aimed at interviewing former plant workers to estimate their exposure to
pollution and record their health complaints.
As many as 25,000 workers at
the plant may have been exposed to a chemical called trichloroethylene, used to
degrease plant machinery from 1952 through 1980. That chemical, also called
TCE, seeped into well water at the plant, and workers may have drunk harmful
amounts.
The fact that workers were
probably exposed to a lot of TCE -- and few other contaminants -- makes the
factory a perfect lab for studying the health problems TCE causes. Heumann has spent years trying to get money for the study.
Even with the federal money, he said, he must find more than $1 million to
finish the study. He said he will apply for grants from the National Institutes
of Health and private foundations.
The Department of Human
Services hasn't asked the state to finance the study because of
The $100,000 to start the
study was included in a $388 billion appropriations bill Congress approved
Saturday. That bill, which awaits the president's signature, funds many
government programs. U.S. Rep. David Wu, D-Ore., originally put a request for
$1 million in the bill, but it was cut back despite support from
"It is a tenth of what
Rep. Wu put in for. It is a twentieth of what we will need for the full
three-year study," he said. "Nonetheless, we are thankful and
appreciative of the support we got from the congressional delegation."
Heumann and other scientists will draft
questions and track down former View-Master plant workers. A survey company
will interview those workers, and Heumann and other
scientists will review the results.
That would feed into three
following studies looking at different possible health effects of TCE exposure,
Heumann said: cancer, several non-cancerous diseases
and effects on children born to exposed workers.
Heumann asked former plant employees or
their relatives to contact him or his co-worker, Jae
Douglas, so they can create a contact list for the study. He said people can
phone them at 503-731-4025 or e-mail
Tina Paddock, vice
chairwoman of the Victims of TCE Exposure advocacy group, said she "would
reserve my enthusiasm" about the funding. She said she is in favor of a
well-designed, well-funded study, but questions whether the planned study has
enough input from outside experts to be solid.
She also pointed out that
epidemiological studies may reveal much about the health problems TCE causes
but do nothing to help treat medical problems former plant workers are
experiencing.