Study Links Stream Pollution to Higher Cancer Rates
Charleston Gazette
21 April 2010
By Ken Ward Jr., Staff writer
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginians who live near streams polluted by
coal mining are more likely to die of cancer, according to a
first-of-its kind study published by researchers at West Virginia
University and Virginia Tech.
The study provides the first peer-reviewed look at the relationship
between the biological health of Appalachian streams and public health
of coalfield residents.
Published in the scientific journal EcoHealth, the paper compares
cancer death rates to population figures, coal production figures and a
new index of how far people live to various types of coal-mining
operations.
"We've known for years that stream organisms can be sentinels of
environmental quality," said study co-author Nathaniel Hitt, a Virginia
Tech stream ecologist who now works for the U.S. Geological Survey.
"What we have now shown is that these organisms are also indicators of
public health."
Hitt wrote the paper with Michael Hendryx, a WVU epidemiologist who has
published a series of other scientific articles that linked mining to
poor public health and found coal costs Appalachian more in premature
deaths that the industry provides in economic benefits.
"We found that cancer rates are linked to environmental quality even
after accounting for other major risks such as smoking," Hendryx said.
"Furthermore, we saw that the most impaired streams were in close
proximity to coal surface mines. This adds to the body of evidence that
coal mining is harmful to ecosystems and human health."
The paper comes as the Obama administration continues a crackdown on
mountaintop removal mining, a move industry officials say would harm
the region's economy and is based on faulty arguments that mining
damages the environment.
Some coal industry officials have been especially critical of the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to tighten water quality
guidelines for mining, saying it amounts to putting the health of
mayflies ahead of jobs.
But the new paper adds to what other scientists say is the growing
evidence not only that mining damages forests and streams, but also
that it threatens public health across the Appalachian coalfields.
"Regulation of coal mining is often portrayed as a choice between
'mayflies and miners'," said Emily Bernhardt, a Duke University
biologist who has researched mining issues and testified on behalf of
citizen groups. "However, this study shows how streams are important
for the health and welfare of miners and their communities."
Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1702.