Cancer Incidence among Former Love Canal Residents

Abstract

Background The Love Canal was a rectangular 16-acre, 10-ft-deep chemical waste landfill situated in a residential neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York. This seriously contaminated site came to public attention in 1978. Only one prior study examined cancer incidence in former residents of the Love Canal neighborhood (LC). Objective In this study we aimed to describe cancer incidence in former LC residents from 1979 to 1996 and to investigate whether it differs from that of New York State (NYS) and Niagara County (NC). Methods From 1978 to 1982, we interviewed 6,181 former residents, and 5,052 were eligible to be included in this study. In 1996, we identified 304 cancer diagnoses in this cohort using the NYS Cancer Registry. We compared LC cancer incidence with that of NYS and NC using standardized incidence ratios (SIRs), and we compared risks within the LC group by potential exposure to the landfill using survival analysis. Results SIRs were elevated for cancers of the bladder [SIR NYS = 1.44; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.91–2.16] and kidney (SIR NYS = 1.48; 95% CI, 0.76–2.58). Although CIs included 1.00, other studies have linked these cancers to chemicals similar to those found at Love Canal. We also found higher rates of bladder cancer among residents exposed as children, based on two cases. Conclusions In explaining these excess risks, the role of exposure to the landfill is unclear given such limitations as a relatively small and incomplete study cohort, imprecise exposure measurements, and the exclusion of cancers diagnosed before 1979. Given the relatively young age of the cohort, further surveillance is warranted.

Hazardous waste and health impact: a systematic review of the scientific literature

“…Some of the ten articles on bladder cancer considered in the present review reported the presence of contaminants associated with bladder cancer in the study areas. Heavy metals in soil and groundwater, and β-HCH in blood of some residents were reported in the Sacco river areas [31]; hexachlorocyclohexanes, benzylchlorides, organic sulfur compounds, chlorobenzenes, and sodium sulfide/sulfhydrates polluted the Love Canal site [36], where a biomonitoring study reported also trichlorobenzene and dichlorobenzene contamination [37]. Dioxins were detected in biomonitoring studies in Campania waste sites [34] located in towns where increased bladder cancer risk was reported [32,33].…”

A follow-up of cancer incidence among former Finnish dump site residents: 1999–2011

“…Some of these studies suggest that living near a dump site may increase the incidence of cancer [3][4][5] and others found no association. [6][7][8][9][10][11] This inconsistency has also been stated in three reviews about the health of populations living close to toxic waste sites from the 2000s. [12][13][14] It has been previously hypothesized that landfill exposures are associated with increased incidence of leukemia and cancers of the urinary tract, bladder, kidneys, liver, biliary ducts, brain, lungs, rectum, and stomach.…”

Cancer Incidence Trends in the Oil Shale Industrial Region in Estonia

“…Recently, increasing evidence has shown associations between living near industrially contaminated sites or being exposed to industrial air pollution and increased total cancer incidence and mortality [27][28][29][30]. Although the main focus has been on lung cancer [28,29,31,32], the increased risks have also been documented for kidney [33,34], bladder [31][32][33][34], and breast cancer [35][36][37] as well as leukaemia [33,[38][39][40] and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma [33,41,42]. Less evidence has been reported on prostate [43], colorectal [44], liver [31], and paediatric cancer risk [45,46].…”