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Wednesday, April 09, 2003

By Jan Adam

There's little hard evidence of health problems caused by polluted air in the North Boroughs. Neither is there hard evidence of the Allegheny County Health Department slacking, nor hard evidence of industries cheating.

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But residents at Wednesday's meeting offered an abundance of anecdotal evidence:

Donald Pack Bryan, a 29-year resident of Ben Avon, lost his wife to cancer three years ago and said he can name eight cases of cancer in a cul-de-sac of 13 homes.

Yves Robinet, a Kilbuck father of two, complained of the lack of follow-up from the county health department after repeated calls to report odors and suspected high levels of pollution.

A 22-year resident of Avalon, Janet Strahosky said "more often than not the worst visible pollution and odors come during evening and weekend hours."

She questioned whether this could be because workers on those shifts are not as well trained.

Others at the meeting asked why health department inspectors are on site only during daylight hours.

Dr. Fred Harchelroad, a toxicologist who chairs the department of emergency medicine at Allegheny General Hospital, agreed that there is reason for concern, but said there is little data available on the effect of mixtures of emissions.

"There's just not good data out there on the health impacts of chemicals mixed with chemicals," he said.

Harchelroad said one study attempting to show increased incidence of cancer in the area was "a rough study." The study did not control for demographics such as age, or for nonindustrial risk factors such as smoking in the home.

Harchelroad said a study is under way to assess any correlation between the number of emergency room visits and air pollution data. The study is being paid for by the county's Clean Air Fund, and is being conducted by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Health.