63.1'H itWSS. HS 31/3 * UMASS/AMHERST * 312066 0307 9532 8 Health Consultation Assessment of Environmental Concerns and Evaluation of Cancer Incidence in New Bedford's South End 1982-1998 RODNEY METALS (a/k/a ALLEGHENY RODNEY STRIP DIVISION) EPA FACILITY ID: MAD001067941 AND BRITTANY DYEING AND PRINTING CORPORATION EPA FACILITY ID: MAD001014612 NEW BEDFORD, BRISTOL COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS Approved for Release by ATSDR: APRIL 9. 2003 GOVERMENT DOCUMENT. COLLECTION Public Release Date: MAR JULY 16, 2003 0 2 2004 University of Massachusetts Depository Copy U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Public Health Service Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Division of Health Assessment and Consultation Atlanta, Georgia 30333 Health Consultation: A Note ofExplanation An ATSDR healthconsultation is averbal orwritten response fromATSDR to a specificrequestfor information about health risks related to a specific site, a chemical release, or the presence of hazardous material. In order to prevent or mitigate exposures, a consultation may lead to specific actions, such as restrictinguse oforreplacing watersupplies; intensifyingenvironmental sampling; restricting site access; or removing the contaminated material. In addition, consultations may recommend additional public health actions, such as conducting health surveillance activities to evaluate exposure ortrends in adverse health outcomes; conducting biological indicators of exposure studies to assess exposure; and providing health education for health care providers and community members. This concludes the health consultation process for this site, unless additional information is obtained by ATSDR which, in the Agency's opinion, indicates a need to revise or append the conclusions previously issued. You May Contact ATSDR TOLL FREE at ATSDR 1-888-42 or Visit our Home Page at: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov HEALTH CONSULTATION Assessment ofEnvironmental Concerns and Evaluation ofCancer Incidence in New Bedford's South End 1982-1998 RODNEY METALS (a/k/a ALLEGHENY RODNEY STREP DIVISION) EPA FACILITY ID: MAD001067941 AND BRITTANY DYEING AND PRINTING CORPORATION EPA FACILITY ID: MAD001014612 NEW BEDFORD, BRISTOL COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS Prepared by: Massachusetts Department ofPublic Health Bureau ofEnvironmental Health Assessment CommunityAssessment Program Under a Cooperative Agreement with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Assessment ofEnvironmental Concerns: Rodney Metals and Brittany Dyeing and Printing Corporation and Evaluation of Cancer Incidence in New Bedford's South End 1982-1998 Table of Contents BACKGROUND AND STATEMENT OF ISSUES I. 1 OBJECTIVES II. 1 COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS III. 3 A. Rodney Metals 3 B. Brittany Dye 5 C. MDEP 2IEHazardous Material and OilReleases intheNew Bedford SouthEnd Area 6 REVIEW OF ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLING DATA IV. 7 EVALUATION OF POTENTIAL COMMUNITY EXPOSURE PATHWAYS V. 12 A. Exposure to Groundwater and Soil 13 B Exposure to Indoor Air 15 . C. Exposure to Surface Water 16 D. Exposure to Ambient Air 17 VI. ANALYSIS OF CANCER INCIDENCE IN NEW BEDFORD CT 6528 18 A Methods for Analyzing Cancer Incidence 18 . B Results ofCancer Incidence Analysis 22 . C Analysis ofGeographic DistributionofCancer Incidence 30 . VII. DISCUSSION 31 MIL CHILD HEALTH ISSUES 37 LIMITATIONS IX. 38 CONCLUSIONS X. 39 XL RECOMMENDATIONS 41 XII. PUBLIC HEALTH ACTION PLAN 42 REFERENCES XIII. 44 Digitized by the Internet Archive 2014 in https://archive.org/details/healthconsultati00mass_1 List ofFigures Figure 1: Census Tract 6528, New Bedford, MA MDEP Figure 2: Approximate Locations of 2IE Hazardous Waste Sites, Census Tract MA 6528, New Bedford, Figure 3: Smoking Status ofMales with Kidney Cancer in New Bedford CT 6528 and Massachusetts, 1995-1998 List of Tables Table 1: MDEP 2IE Hazardous Material and Oil Releases, Census Tract 6528, New MA Bedford, Table 2: Summary of Groundwater Sample Analytical Results Table 3: Summary ofExcavated Soil Sample Analytical Results Table 4: Summary of Surface Water Sample Analytical Results Table 5: Cancer Incidence in CT 6528: 1982-1998 Table 6: Cancer Incidence in CT 6528: 1982-1986 Table 7: Cancer Incidence in CT 6528: 1987-1994 Table 8: Cancer Incidence in CT 6528: 1995-1998 ii BACKGROUND AND STATEMENT OF ISSUES I. At the request of concerned residents, Representative Antonio Cabral, and the New Bedford Health Department, the Community Assessment Program (CAP) of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH), Bureau of Environmental Health Assessment (BEHA) conducted an evaluation of cancer incidence in the South End area of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Specifically, this evaluation was initiated based on community concerns about the possible role that environmental exposures related to the Allegheny Rodney Company (also known as Rodney Metals) and Brittany Dyeing and Printing Corporation (a.k.a. Brittany Dye) may play in the incidence of cancer in the neighborhoods adjacent to the facilities. Rodney Metals and Brittany Dye are located in the South End area of New Bedford, census tract 6528, on East Rodney French Boulevard to the south of Butler Street and east of Swan Street. Refer to Figure 1 for the location ofthe two facilities and the adjacent neighborhood. OBJECTIVES II. This investigation provides a review of potential exposure pathways to chemicals from Rodney Metals and Brittany Dye as well as a review of the pattern of cancer in the South End area of New Bedford through comparison of the incidence of eight cancer types with the incidence of these cancers in the state of Massachusetts as a whole. Additionally, available information about risk factors, including environmental factors, related to the development of cancer was evaluated. To evaluate concerns about potential environmental exposures from Rodney Metals and Brittany MDPH Dye, contacted the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP) to obtain and review available environmental data for these companies. This report provides a descriptive evaluation of the occurrence of cancer in census tract 6528 in the city of New Bedford during the years 1982-1998, the time period for which the most recent and complete cancer incidence data were available from the Massachusetts Cancer Registry (MCR) at the initiation of this analysis. The city of New Bedford is divided into 30 smaller geographic areas or census tracts (CTs). The South End area of New Bedford as well as Rodney Metals and Brittany Dye are located in CT 6528, on the southern peninsula of the city. New Bedford CT 6528 comprises an area of approximately 1.8 square kilometers and has a total 1 population of 3,405 (U.S. DOC 2000). The location and boundaries of CT 6528 are also shown in Figure 1. A census tract is a smaller geographic subdivision of a city or town designated by the U.S. Census Bureau. Because age group and gender specific population information is necessary to calculate incidence rates, the census tract is the smallest geographic area for which cancer rates can be accurately calculated. The results of this descriptive analysis can be useful in identifying cancer patterns or trends in a geographic context, to determine if a common cause or etiology is possible, and can serve to identify areas where further public health investigations or actions may be warranted. Descriptive analyses may also indicate that an excess of known risk factors associated with a disease, such as environmental exposures, exists in a certain geographic area. This descriptive analysis of cancer incidence data cannot be used to establish a causal link between a particular risk factor (either environmental or non-environmental) and the development of cancer. In addition, this analysis cannot determine the cause of any one individual's cancer diagnosis. The purpose ofthis evaluation is to report the findings on the patterns ofcancer in the South End area of New Bedford and discuss them in the context of the available environmental information to determine whether recommendations for further public health action are needed. The specific objectives ofthis investigation were as follows: • To evaluate opportunities for environmental exposure(s) to nearby residents to chemicals from Rodney Metals and Brittany Dye; • To evaluate the incidence of eight cancer types (cancers of the bladder, breast, kidney, liver, lung, pancreas, leukemia, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma) in New Bedford CT 6528 and specifically neighborhoods near Rodney Metals and Brittany Dye to determine if cancer is occurring more or less often than expected; • To evaluate the geographic distribution of cancer in CT 6528 by mapping individual cases to determine whether any indication of an atypical pattern of cases exists in this area of the city, particularly in relation to possible exposure opportunities to chemicals from Rodney Metals or Brittany Dye; 2