EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE: 24 June 1998 at 19:00:00 ET USContact: David L. Williamson
rdtokids@email.unc.edu
919-962-8596
University of North Carolina at Chapel HillScientists At UNC-CH Find Aberdeen Pesticide Exposure, But Few Symptoms
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.--One of the largest, most comprehensive studies ever done of the effects of pesticide exposure on the immune systems of people living near U.S. chemical manufacturing plants and dump sites offers bad news and good news to southern Moore County residents. The bad news is that some residents whose homes are within a mile of Aberdeen pesticide sites show elevated DDE levels in their blood, according to a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientist. DDE is a byproduct of the body's struggles to break down the pesticide DDT, which has been banned since 1972 for use in the United States.
"The good news is that we are not seeing major clinical effects from the exposures, based on the health indicators we investigated," said Dr. Marilyn Vine, assistant professor of epidemiology at the UNC-CH School of Public Health. "Despite the large number of pesticides contained in the dump sites, of a panel of 20 organochlorines, DDE was the only organochlorine detected in the blood of 302 study participants, with one exception.
"Levels of plasma DDE in the study population overall were low compared to nationwide levels between 1976 and 1980, just after the DDT ban," Vine said.
Younger Aberdeen residents--those between ages 18 and 40--and people who lived there before 1985 when the plants were operating did show a two- to three-fold increased risk of herpes zoster, or shingles, which indicates modest suppression of the body's immune system, the researchers found.
Most volunteers tested showed immune system indicators to be within normal ranges, however, she said.
Among people ages 40 to 59 who lived within a mile of what is called the Farm Chemicals site before 1985, the median plasma DDE level was six parts per billion. The median level among comparable people who moved there after 1985 was 2.7 parts per billion, which suggested heavier exposures while the plant was in operation, as one would expect.
"Given the general concern about the health effects of DDE exposure, including its role as a possible human carcinogen, and the fact that we saw small effects on some people's immune systems, it would be prudent to limit exposures to the dump sites," Vine said.
"Major soil and ground water remediation efforts, which began in 1996 and are expected to be completed in 1998, should help limit future exposures to the contents of the dump sites."
The Aberdeen Pesticide Dumps Site is a National Priority List Superfund Site consisting of five former plants and dumps in and around Aberdeen, the scientist said. The study was conducted because of concern about possible threats to human health in the areas.
In 1948, Dr. Robert Mobbs, a local physician, wrote a letter to the Journal of the American Medical Association about a child who lived 100 yards from the Farms Chemicals site and died following convulsions. In 1993, one of Vine's students uncovered evidence suggesting immune system suppression and chromosome damage in area dogs.
Phase I of the work consisted of extensive telephone health interviews with about 1,600 residents of Aberdeen, Pinebluff, Taylortown and Pinehurst. Phase II consisted of more detailed interviews as well as skin and sophisticated blood tests on a random sample of participants in Phase I.
Others involved in the research at UNC-CH include Dr. Kristen Weigle, associate professor of epidemiology and pediatrics; Dr. Leonard Stein, associate professor of pediatrics; project director Darrah Degnan; public health doctoral student and veterinarian Jane Schroeder; and masters student Dr. Volker Arndt. Others were Drs. Lorraine Backer of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Carol Hanchette of the N.C. Center for Health Statistics.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and the Environmental Protection Agency supported the study.
Note: Vine can be reached at 919-966-7451.
School of Public Health Contact: Lisa Katz, 919-966-7467
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