WHAT
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) will update community members on the polycythemia vera (PV) research projects in the tri-county area of Schuylkill, Luzerne, and Carbon Counties, PA on September 20, 2012 in Tamaqua, PA.

The availability session will be held from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm at the Tamaqua Public Library, 30 South Railroad Street. Representatives from ATSDR and other researchers will present the update at 6:00 pm and again at 7:00 pm. Representatives will be available to speak with area residents about the projects between presentations and until 8:00 pm.

Lora Werner, Regional Director, ATSDR

Elizabeth Irvin-Barnwell, Epidemiologist, ATSDR

Thursday, September 20, 2012 at 6:00pm

Tamaqua Public Library, 30 South Railroad Street

For directions to the library, visit http://www.taplpa.info/?page-directions

PV is a rare illness that causes the body to make too many red blood cells. In 2008, an ATSDR investigation identified a cluster of PV cases in Eastern Pennsylvania. In 2009, ATSDR received funds to continue the PV investigation.

ATSDR is conducting 14 research projects and 4 non-research projects. The Pennsylvania Department of Health, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and various universities and private organizations are working with ATSDR on these PV related projects.

The projects are based on the recommendations of an expert panel that identified four areas for investigation: epidemiology, genetics, toxicology and environmental analysis. Some of the research projects are evaluating risk factors associated with the development of PV, essential thrombocytosis (ET), and primary myelofibrosis (PMF) in the tri-county area. Fieldwork for the projects is expected to be completed this fall. Research findings and reports will be presented at future public meetings as data review and analysis are completed.