As the first group of 107 Warren, Ohio, residents who volunteered to participate in a federal health study reach their half-way points June 24, study participants are being urged to stay the course and complete the 30-day study.
"All the volunteers are doing a very good job with their daily diaries, badges and peak-flow meters," said Lynn Wilder, an environmental health scientist with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, known as ATSDR.
"I know sometimes it can be difficult for them to do all the tasks we're asking, but it's very important that they do," Wilder said.
The month-long ATSDR study is investigating the impact of exposure to hydrogen sulfide on the respiratory health of people who live, work or go to school near the Warren Recycling landfill in Warren. ATSDR is a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Wilder said all study volunteers fill out a preprinted "diary" that generally documents their daily activities, health symptoms and whether they noticed hydrogen sulfide odors during the previous 24 hours.
Some volunteers also wear a badge each day that records hydrogen sulfide levels in the air around them. Some also vigorously exhale twice daily into small, hand-held meters that record the force and duration of their exhalations.
Hydrogen sulfide exposure has been associated with respiratory problems in some occupational studies. Much less is known about the health effects of hydrogen sulfide exposure in nonoccupational, community settings.
People who live or work near the Warren Recycling landfill have told state and federal health officials they believe hydrogen sulfide emissions from the landfill make them sick. ATSDR began investigating the landfill in 2002 after community members asked the agency to become involved.
A public health consultation issued by ATSDR in November 2003 classified the levels of hydrogen sulfide in Warren Township and physical hazards at the Warren Recycling landfill as an "urgent public health hazard."
The Ohio Department of Health then requested that ATSDR conduct a rapid response evaluation to investigate the community's health.
Less than a week after the ATSDR study began, operations at the landfill were scaled back. Wilder said reduced activity at the landfill should not affect ATSDR's study.
Wilder said it takes months to years for newly placed waste material to be broken down by naturally occurring bacteria to the point that hydrogen sulfide is released.
"Odors that are occurring now are due to waste brought in much earlier," Wilder said. "We're encouraging all the study participants to continue with their program."
Wilder and Epidemiologist Preethi Rao are available at the Warren Township building, 3765 W. Market St., Leavittsburg, daily until the last group of volunteers completes its 30-day participation in mid-July.
Wilder can be contacted at 404-431-1448. Rao can be reached at 404-432-8943.
Established by Congress in 1980 under the Superfund law, ATSDR conducts public health assessments at each of the sites on the EPA National Priorities List, as well as other sites when petitioned. Headquartered in Atlanta, ATSDR is staffed by more than 400 health professionals including epidemiologists, physicians, toxicologists, engineers and public health educators.