BY STEPHEN J. PYTAK (STAFF WRITER spytak@republicanherald.com)
Published: May 1, 2011

NEW PHILADELPHIA – A blood disease which has haunted people in the county living near coal waste sites may be on the rise, Dr. Paul I. Roda of Geisinger Hazleton Cancer Center said Saturday.

Or cases of polycythemia vera may have always been higher than area physicians have realized, Roda said, “because they’re under-reported. I believe they’ve been high all along, just never fully appreciated.”

Roda, who works with PV cases through the Geisinger Health Network, gave some insights on the disease to more than 30 area health care providers at the start of the ninth annual Simon Kramer Institute Oncologic Symposium.

Polycythemia vera is a rare but treatable form of blood cancer found at elevated levels in Schuylkill, Luzerne and Carbon counties. Many studies are still being done on PV to determine how it occurs. It’s widely believed its victims are people who have grown up near coal waste and superfund sites, Roda said.

According to the website for the state Department of Health, www.health.state.pa.us, there were 412 cases of polycythemia vera in the state between 2001-02, including 14 in Schuylkill County.

No other statistics regarding PV could be located on the department’s website Saturday night.

“Between 2004 and 2009, we identified approximately 130 cases in the entire Geisinger Health Network. I do not have numbers for specific counties,” Roda said.

He believes over the years, cases have been under-reported.

“One reason is, to start with, the state registry was set on a hospitalized basis. If you put Mr. Smith in the hospital because he had lung cancer, that gets reported. But if you’re only being seen in the office, that doesn’t get reported. It’s a matter of where they’re seen and where these cases get reported,” Roda said.

Studies are still being done to determine who is at risk for the disease.

“We still don’t have something in black and white which will tell people ‘yes you’re at risk’ or ‘no you’re not at risk.’ My experience says that the incidence is high. Until we know for certain, it certainly behooves everyone to check their blood counts once a year,” Roda said.

It’s typically found in people age 55 and up, he said.

“Since this is a disease of patients who are 55 years of age or older, you don’t have to worry about this in 20-year-olds,” Roda said.

People who believe they are infected should first go to their doctor for a general blood test and a complete blood count, Roda said.

“A $10 CBC is more than adequate. Quite simply, if the patient’s CBC is normal, if they have a normal hemoglobin, white count and platelet count, you don’t have to worry,” he said.

However, if the patient has an abnormal blood count, an increased red cell mass or thrombosis, that person might want to take a test to determine if they have what’s called a “JAK2 mutation.” It’s a genetic change found in about 9 out of 10 people with PV, Roda said.

“That (test) could cost up to $2,000,” Roda said.

To get a JAK2 blood test, visit a healthcare provider, Roda said.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hear testimony on the proposed U.S. Senate Bill 76, the “Disease Cluster Act,” aimed at confirming disease clusters and finding their causes.

Gina Solomon, senior scientist with the National Resources Defense Council, a nonprofit environmental action group, will present a report that has confirmed 42 disease clusters in 13 states across the country since 1976, including two locally.

The report references a cluster of polycythemia vera cases in Schuylkill, Luzerne and Carbon counties. In 2008, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry confirmed the diagnoses of polycythemia vera in 33 people and found rates in some areas exceeded the overall county rate by four times. Residents have pointed out that their homes are near McAdoo Associates, where toxic material was recycled and dumped until 1979 and the site made the federal Superfund list of the nation’s most toxic places.

Polycythemia vera is a blood disorder in which the bone marrow produces too many red blood cells, which causes the blood to thicken.

The report also references another cluster of 12 employees of Luzerne Intermediate Unit 18 who were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and lupus. According to the report, in 2004, Penn State University found health hazards when trichloroethylene, or TCE, was used to clean two printing presses in the administration building in Kingston, near Wilkes-Barre. The solvent routinely spilled onto the carpet. Researchers found TCE exposures were 10,000 times higher than what the Environmental Protection Agency considers an acceptable cancer risk for someone working in the building for at least 10 years.

“The report is being released at the Senate hearing because of the problems of disease clusters across the country, how they’re being investigated and whether they’re being adequately investigated,” Solomon said. “What I would like to see is better coordination between state and federal agencies and clear guidelines for how to investigate disease clusters and to have more community involvement.”

Others who will testify at the hearing include Trevor Schaefer, a 21-year-old brain cancer survivor from Boise, Idaho, and Erin Brockovich, who became well-known for her fight to document a disease cluster in Hinkley, Calif., which was turned into a movie starring Julia Roberts.

Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, proposed the legislation to fund research to determine whether connections exist between disease clusters and environmental contaminants.

By Denise Allabaugh (Staff Writer dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com)
Published: March 29, 2011

http://republicanherald.com/news/tamaqua-area-cancer-cases-to-be-part-of-senate-hearing-on-disease-clusters-1.1124935

March 26 — Spring Clean-up. 9:00 a.m.  to noon. This is a big volunteer day for working on lots of spring chores at the Refuge. We depend greatly on our volunteer base and this is a great opportunity to help us out. (Rain Date — April 2)

April 23 — Earth Day Celebration
7:00 a.m. Bird Walk at LGNC. All are welcome.
9:00 a.m. to noon. Native Plant workshop. REGISTRATION REQUIRED. This is a 3-hour workshop designed to teach you about native plants and how to create habitat gardens. We will be both indoors for a presentation and outside in the gardens. Come prepared to do some weeding  and also to learn about the native plants. Each participant will receive a book, a plant to take home and use in your garden, and a gift certificate to Edge of the Woods native Plant Nursery. This workshop is FREE to LGNC members and you have first chance to register. Please register as soon as possible — space is limited to 15 people. If more than one person in the same immediate family is coming, that will count as one registration. (See May 4 for another date for the same workshop).

April 30 — Natural History Workshop
8:00 a.m. Birding Workshop for beginners and families. Binoculars are available for those who do not own them. Come out and learn how to identify our local birds and learn about their ecology and behavior.
10:00 a.m. Fly fishing Demonstration by LL Bean. REGISTRATION REQUIRED. This is an opportunity to learn about the ecology and art of catch and release fly fishing. LL Bean will bring fly rods and you will have a chance to try out your casting skills.

May 4 — Native Plant Workshop
6:00-9:00 p.m. REGISTRATION REQUIRED. (Same workshop as April 23 — see description above.)

May 7 — Natural History Hike
9:00 a.m to about noon on the Charcoal Trail. Moderately difficult hike. We will climb over the top of the mountain looking for signs of spring.

May 14 — Second Saturday Bird Walk
7:00 a.m. Good time for warblers and other spring migrants and arrivals.

May 22 — LGNC and LV Audubon Birds Walk at Lehigh Gap.
7:00 a.m. Led by Corey Husic.

All of these events begin at the Osprey House. For the events requiring registration, be sure to register if you intend to come, and be sure to come if you register. If you register and do not attend, you take the place of someone else who wanted to attend – space is limited.

Contact:
Dan Kunkle
Lehigh Gap Nature Center
P.O. Box 198
Slatington, PA 18080
610-760-8889

http://lgnc.org

This project is part of an ongoing action to repair environmental damage that was caused by emissions from zinc smelting operations in the Borough of Palmerton.  Due to the steep and remote location, a modified crop dusting aircraft will be used to distribute a specific mixture of seed, lime and fertilizer on the property owned by the National Park Service and Pennsylvania State Game Land.  Weather-permitting, work is scheduled to begin the week of March 14 and should take five to six weeks to complete.

“The re-vegetation of Blue Mountain marks another step forward in a lengthy clean-up process and helps restore a beautiful portion of Appalachian Trail with native grasses, plants and shrubs so that it blends in naturally with the Pennsylvania countryside,” said EPA’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin.

“This step has been a long time coming and we are delighted to have this remediation work getting underway,” said Pamela Underhill, Park Manager for the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.

During the planting, the public will see aircraft originating from the nearby Slatington, Pa. airport flying low over the top of Blue Mountain.  This aerial reseeding technique was previously used to restore other sections of the mountain west and east of the Lehigh River.  The mixture of seed used during this restoration is designed to foster the growth of warm season grasses, shrubs and trees native to the area.

The restoration work is being paid for by CBS Inc., formerly Viacom International, the party potentially responsible for the contamination.  More information on the Palmerton site can be found on EPA’s website at: http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/super/sites/PAD002395887/index.htm .

Contacts: Roy Seneca (EPA) seneca.roy@epa.gov 215-814-5567
David Reus David_Reus@nps.gov  (National Park Service) 304-535-4001

Published: January 3, 2011

William F. Hinkle
Jan. 1, 2011

William F. Hinkle, 74, of Ben Titus Road, Tamaqua, died Saturday at his residents. He was the husband of letha Titus Hinkle.

Born in Weatherly, he was the son of the late Robert and Theresa Romanchik Hinkle. He was employed as a carpenter/project manager by Joseph Miorelli Co., Hazleton. He had served in the U.S. Army Reserves.

A member of the Drums Seventh Day Adventist Church, he was an elder of the church and served on the school board of the church.

William was a 1954 graduate of Weatherly High School.

Surviving in addition to his wife, are his son, Kent Hinkle and his wife, Sherry, Rush Township; two grandchildren, Amanda and Ty Hinkle; brothers, Robert and John Hinkle and his wife Dorothy, both of Weatherly; sisters, Ruth Postupack and Ellen Burke and her husband, Walter, both of Weatherly; and Evelyn Sheer, Drums.

He was predeceased by a sister, Frances Harahush; and by a brother, Edward Hinkle.

Private funeral services will be held at the convenience of the family, with Pastor Troy Haagenson officiating.

Calling hours will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Zizelmann-Roche Funeral Home, 500 E. Broad St., Tamaqua.

Interment will be in White Church Cemetery, Rush Township.

Arrangements are by Zizelmann-Roche Funeral Home. An online guest registry is available at www .zrgfuneralhomes.com.

Reported on Friday, September 17, 2010

Some in Palmerton feel borough was shortchanged

By TERRY AHNER tahner@tnonline.com

TERRY AHNER/TIMES NEWS Dr. Kathleen Patnode, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, gives a presentation on the Palmerton Zinc Pile Superfund Site Natural Resource Damage Assessment to members of the Palmerton Area Chamber of Commerce earlier this week.

Has Palmerton been shortchanged out of a $20 million settlement for damage to the environment?

A number of borough officials and business owners believe so, and let their thoughts be heard at a meeting of the Palmerton Area Chamber of Commerce earlier this week.

Dr. Kathleen Patnode, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pennsylvania Field Office, explained the nature of the settlement reached last year between the Environmental Protection Agency and CBS Operations, Inc, as well as the decision-making process that determined how the funds are to be used.

Recently, government trustees have decided that more than 95-percent of the natural resource damage assessment funds are expected to be expended on projects well outside the Palmerton area.

Patnode gave a presentation on the Palmerton Zinc Pile Superfund Site Natural Resource Damage Assessment Draft Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment.

As part of her dialogue, Patnode shared the context for the natural resource damaged assessment; summarized the natural resource injury assessment; outlined the restoration opinions analysis; described the preferred restoration alternatives; and reviewed the public process.

Patnode said that under Superfund site law, natural resource damage assessments are conducted by government officials designated to act as “trustees” to bring claims on behalf of the public for the restoration of natural resources injured due to hazardous substances. Those trustees include the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Department of Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania Game Commission, and Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, she said.

The goal, Patnode said, is to make the public whole for the hazardous substance-related loss of natural resources through restoration, replacement, or acquisition of the equivalent of injured resources.

Patnode stressed that natural resource damages are in addition to remedial actions. and that remedial actions are risk-based to protect human health and the environment from further unacceptable harm, such as to bind metals in soils and plants on the mountain; to stop metals from contaminating groundwater; and to prevent metals from entering the creek.

Natural resource damages for the Palmerton site are the restoration needed to compensate for the level and type of natural resources that would have existed if metals had not contaminated the mountain, groundwater and creek, Patnode said.

She said the keys in the NRDA process are to define the scope, evaluate the injury, use information to reach settlement with potentially responsible parties, and develop a restoration plan.

The settlement for natural resource damages was reached with the responsible parties on Oct. 27, 2009, by judicial consent decree, Patnode said.

That includes the transfer of about 1,300 acres of the “King Manor” property to PGC; the discharge of the $300,000 mortgage on the Lehigh Gap Nature Center; a nonprofit conservation and environmental education organization located in the Lehigh Gap; a cash payment of $9.875 million, that, based on the cost of potential restoration projects, would compensate for remaining losses; as well as full reimbursement of the trustees’ damage assessment costs, she said.

The proposal, Patnode said, calls for the funds to be used for habitat acquisition/easement protection of the Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge; Lehigh River Headwaters and other areas on Kittatinny Ridge and the Lehigh River; a Lower Lehigh River Dam removal feasibility study; a Parryville access site for fishing on the Lehigh River; and restoration and enhancement of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.

But, many residents in the Palmerton area believe that a greater percentage of the funds should be use on local environmental projects, said Peter Kern, chamber president.

“I think everybody understands the difference between remediation and replacement,” Kern said. “People are concerned there will be little or no money in the local community.”

Terry Costenbader, president of Palmerton Borough Council, was a bit more blunt in his approach.

“Let’s cut to the chase; CBS is paying the penalty here for causing the damage,” Costenbader said. “It sounds to me you people want to spend the money in other areas than where we’re sitting.”

Jim Christman, owner of Christman Realty, told Patnode the criteria “seems odd”, and added that the real damage to the community “has been the stigma as a Superfund Site attached to it.”

Patnode said that while she could empathize, a specific set of rules and regulations must be followed.

“I understand what you’re saying and that there could be many civic products in Palmerton,” Patnode said. “This law only basically allows us to restore natural resources.”

Patnode said appropriate lands could include the Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge and the Upper Lehigh River area.

She said the public comment period was from June 15 to July 15; however, comments submitted after the deadline were accepted. Trustees will review all comments and develop a revised document and response to the comments, Patnode said.

Also, she said additional restoration projects for Trustee evaluation are being accepted. But, Patnode said potential projects won’t be reviewed until the restoration plan is final; projects will be divided by alternative type and evaluated by the subcouncil responsible for that alternative; and the subcouncil recommendations must receive unanimous vote by the entire trustee council.

Patnode said the goal is to get the plan finalized this fall, at which point projects could be reviewed.

Dan Kunkle, director of the Lehigh Gap Nature Center, said the group is merely “following the law.”

“I trust they are going to look at our proposals, and accept or reject them based on the criteria,” Kunkle said. “I think the project is really working.”

]]> http://carbonwaters.org/2010/09/some-in-palmerton-feel-borough-was-shortchanged/feed/ 1 http://carbonwaters.org/2010/08/palmerton-citizens-for-a-clean-environment-will-be-holding-a-public-meeting/ http://carbonwaters.org/2010/08/palmerton-citizens-for-a-clean-environment-will-be-holding-a-public-meeting/#comments Sat, 07 Aug 2010 13:14:10 +0000 Frank http://carbonwaters.org/?p=6305 http://www.tnonline.com/node/123117

Reported on Friday, August 6, 2010

Clean Environmental meeting set for Aug. 10

The Palmerton Citizens for a Clean Environment will be holding a public meeting Tuesday, Aug. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Palmerton Ambulance building on Delaware Avenue.

Charlie Root, EPA Superfund Project Manager, will be in attendance and will provide updates on the borough’s Superfund issues. Also attending is: Dave Polish, EPA Community Coordinator; Griff Miller, the “Ricra” lead for the EPA’s West Plant Revitalization Program; and Jim Kunkle, a liaison from the Department of Environmental Protection.

The meeting will be open to the public.

Public meeting scheduled on Palmerton zinc pile site

Reported on Wednesday, June 9, 2010
By TERRY AHNER tahner@tnonline.com

Those with environmental concerns over the Palmerton Zinc Pile Superfund Site will soon have a platform to express their viewpoints.

A public meeting to comment on the Draft Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for the site will be held at 7 p.m. June 15 at Palmerton Area High School.

The Plan will be presented, followed by a question-and-answer period. Representatives from the Trustee agencies will be present.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, on behalf of the Department of the Interior, the Department of Commerce, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, invites the public to comment on the Plan.

The Plan evaluates alternatives to restore natural resources injured at the Site, and describes the restoration actions that are proposed as compensation to the public for losses resulting from those injuries.

The alternatives are described in the context of a settlement agreement with the parties responsible for contamination of the assessment area. All interested parties are invited to submit comments on the Plan.

The Plan is available for review at the Palmerton Area Library. Requests for copies of the Plan may be made to: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pennsylvania Field Office, Attention Kathleen Patnode, 315 South Allen Street, Suite 322, State College, PA 16801.

A 30-day public comment period will be held through July 15. Written comments or materials regarding the Plan should be sent to the same address. Comments may also be sent via email to Kathleen_Patnode@fws.gov.

CANCER CLUSTER MONEY IS SAFE
May 7, 2010

The search for answers in a rare cancer cluster will continue. $2.5 million was earmarked to further study the polycythemia vera cancer cluster in Carbon, Schuylkill, and Luzerne Counties. But, sources at the Centers for Disease Control say the agency was considering reprogramming that funding and not using it to study the rare blood cancer. Senator Arlen Specter made sure the important funding will stay where it belongs. Residents feel toxic dump sites are to blame for tainting groundwater and making people sick. Some of the money will be used to test groundwater and air samples for contamination.

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/wrcp/wildnotes/spring10/index.html