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County Reaction to Coldwater Creek Report
County Health Dept. Seeks More Study
Of Heath/Cancer Rates-Coldwater Creek
The Saint Louis County Department of Health is calling for more study of health problems in and around Coldwater Creek – not just cancer rates, but the entire range of health problems that can be associated with exposure to radiation.
“People have a right to know if the environment they live in is safe for them and their families,” said Dr. Dolores J. Gunn, director of the Saint Louis County Department of Health. “The report released Tuesday by the state health department raises additional questions that need to be answered.”
On Tuesday, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) released a report that found statistically-significant elevated rates of leukemia among adults and brain cancer among children, all diagnosed from 1996-2011. Elevated rates were also found for breast, colon, prostate, kidney, and bladder cancer. However, the report found statistically-significant lower rates of thyroid cancer.
“We need to go beyond the years 1996 to 2011 and beyond just cancer rates to develop a more complete picture of what the people in and around Coldwater Creek are dealing with,” said Dr. Gunn.
“We also need to determine if people are still being exposed to any environmental dangers,” she added.
Earlier this year, the county health department put together a team of epidemiologists to conduct chronic disease surveillance throughout the county. In addition to tracking obesity rates, heart disease rates, and other indicators of chronic disease, the team will focus on the situation in and around Coldwater Creek to assess what measurable effects can be identified that might be linked to radiation exposure.
The county’s new chronic disease surveillance team also anticipates working closely with the many different agencies and organizations that can play a role in this effort, including the local organization that helped bring attention to this issue – the “Just the Facts” citizens group – as well as academic institutions like Washington University and Saint Louis University, DHSS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
