Pennsylvania not ready to commit to health impact study on landfill

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Pennsylvania not ready to commit to health impact study on landfill

02/15/02

By JONATHAN HENRY

The Express-Times

PEN ARGYL - Seeking a state-commissioned study that would investigate the

health impact of Grand Central Sanitary Landfill, borough council did not

get a Valentine's Day kiss-off from the Pennsylvania Department of Health on

Thursday.

It also failed to get a commitment to do the study.

The cordial meeting was called by council and attended by two members of the

General Assembly, representatives from landfill owner Waste Management and

about 10 members of the public. Department of Health officials said they

would consider commissioning a health impact study to determine if several

health afflictions are caused by landfill emissions.

If the study were conducted, it would be an unprecedented move for the

department, according to Hersh, director of the department's

epidemiology bureau.

Hersh said the department has never conducted a health impact study on

residents living near a landfill.

State Sen. Boscola, D-Northampton/Monroe, state Rep. Craig Dally,

R-Northampton/Monroe, the borough and Waste Management Inc. have requested

the study.

While Hersh did not dismiss the request, he did offer several difficulties

the department would face if it did attempt to determine if the municipal

waste landfill causes chronic health problems.

First among those difficulties would be getting information about residents'

health. Hersh said that while the incidences of many diseases such as cancer

are reported to the department by law, chronic problems such as asthma and

diabetes are not.

To get that data, Hersh said, residents would have to allow the department

or its agents to look at their health records.

If the study showed certain afflictions occurred more often in the area,

Hersh said, the department would then have to prove a cause for the study to

be worthwhile. That would be difficult and expensive, he said.

Additionally, the department would have to design the study, he said.

The area's elected officials said the effort would be worthwhile.

Boscola has three municipal waste landfills in her district. She said

constituents living near those sites tell her about the possibility of

health problems caused by the landfills.

" I would like to see if it's true or not, " she said.

She said although the health department hasn't done landfill health studies

before should not mean that they can't in the future.

" It's fair to do the study, " she said. " We should have done this years ago. "

Dally asked the health department officials what they would need to proceed

with the study. He also asked if the department ever considered doing a

study near a landfill before. Hersh said that it hadn't.

The reason, Hersh said, may be surprising; no one has ever asked for one

before.

Several councilmen also spoke of their desire to see a study. Council Vice

President Nasatka said chronic illness data should be able to be

acquired from insurance records, while Councilman Chuck Spink said the lack

of a study made him feel as though the borough's residents were being used

as " lab rats. "

Borough Solicitor Layman said the borough would be willing to help

gather information. He also predicted large-scale compliance with requests

to borough residents for access to their health records.

Others also spoke in support of the idea.

Former borough Councilwoman Robin Zmoda said the study could relieve a

burden on residents.

" If you could tell us that we don't need to worry, that would be the

greatest gift you could give to us - and probably the landfill - because we

wouldn't be on their backs, " she said.

Hersh said he would take the information back to burg, study what

could be done and confer with Secretary of Health Zimmerman. He said

he would get back to the borough in a couple of weeks.

" Don't feel as if I'm being evasive because I didn't say 'yes' today, " he

said.