Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008
Cancer rate not affected by TCE
Soil sullied by AVX confined to 1 neighborhood
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closeA state agency has found no elevated occurrences of cancer linked to trichloroethylene in the Myrtle Beach neighborhood where AVX Corp. contaminated groundwater with the chemical.
Also, environmental tests conducted for the city back up state officials' assertions that the contamination is confined to the neighborhood north of AVX's headquarters at 17th Avenue South.
Geologists with the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control have said they do not believe trichloroethylene, or TCE, has migrated south of AVX.
AVX investigation: Read past articlesMyrtle Beach officials wanted to do their own tests because "we didn't learn about this issue until last fall and we're trying to learn what, if any, contamination exists on city property," said city spokesman Mark Kruea.
The new health study covers cancer occurrences during 2000-04, the most recent data available. It indicates most of the damage from TCE, an industrial degreaser, is to the neighborhood's property values rather than residents' health.
"Cancers known to be related to TCE exposure - kidney cancer, leukemia and liver cancer - were not elevated for ZIP code 29577," which includes the neighborhood near AVX, according to Susan Bolick-Aldrich, director of the S.C. Central Cancer Registry, a division of DHEC.
ZIP codes are the smallest area for which DHEC compiles cancer data.
DHEC compared actual cancer occurrences against occurrences that would statistically be expected for the area. There were 700 new cases of cancer during the five-year period, while 667 cases were expected. The most common types were lung, breast, colon/rectum and prostate cancers.
The study has its limitations because DHEC does not track the health of people who moved away from the ZIP code during the five-year period.
Two types of cancer - ovarian and uterine - showed a significantly higher number of cases than expected. DHEC does not believe the contamination played a role in those cancers.
"Risk factors for cancers of the ovary and uterus are not known to be environmentally related," Bolick-Aldrich said.
A total of 270 cancer deaths occurred in the ZIP code during that five-year period, while 276 had been expected.
The city's environmental tests, conducted earlier this year, showed no TCE contamination above levels the federal government considers safe at five sites south of AVX's headquarters. Those samples were taken from two groundwater wells on city-owned land adjacent to AVX and three ponds at the city's Whispering Pines Golf Course.
A test on city-owned property at 602 13th Ave. S., which is north of AVX, showed TCE levels of 160 parts per billion in groundwater. The maximum safe drinking water level is five parts per billion, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The city does not use ground-
water for its drinking supply.
Kruea said he can not comment on whether the city will take legal action against AVX because of the contamination.
The test results at 13th Avenue South mirror the results of tests AVX has conducted for DHEC in that area.
DHEC says the contamination is in a roughly 10-block neighborhood sandwiched between Beaver Road and Kings Highway.
A trio of lawsuits, in which property owners say the contamination has made their land worthless, is working its way through federal court. At the same time, state and AVX officials are working on a plan to clean up the groundwater.
DHEC spokesman Thom Berry said the agency met with AVX executives earlier this month to talk about additional sampling work.
To read the S.C. Cancer Registry report, visit MyrtleBeach
Online.com.
Read more of The Sun News' series about contamination at AVX at MyrtleBeach
Online.com. Click "TCE Contamination" under the "Special Sections" tab.
Property owners have filed lawsuits saying the contamination has made their land worthless.
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