Review of Radiological Data Measured in the Polycythemia Vera Investigation Study Area in Carbon, Luzerne and Schuylkill Counties, Pennsylvania
Author: The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Read the full online report here: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwRH4EmO-HCtcWliYjNFeEhadjg/edit .
Report Summary:
This study by the CDC's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry was a result of ongoing research into the cause of an unusually high number of local Pennsylvanians diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer called polycythemia vera.
At the request of ATSDR, the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) collected and analyzed soil and air samples at homes in the cluster area, which spans three counties from Tamaqua through McAdoo and into Hazleton with a concentration of cancer cases along Ben Titus Road, which lies north of Tamaqua off state Route 309 in Schuylkill County.
Evaluating data from DEP samples, the ATSDR found some houses in the study area with elevated levels of radon gas in indoor air and in private well water.
Soils in the test area had slightly elevated levels of radon.