Published in the Asbury Park Press
By JEAN MIKLE
TOMS RIVER BUREAU
DOVER TOWNSHIP -- Some township residents will soon be receiving letters asking them to participate in an air emissions study that will look for connections between airborne pollutants and Dover's elevated level of childhood cancer cases.
Researchers from Rutgers University's Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute began mailing letters last week to about 300 homeowners, whose houses were selected as being representative of their neighborhoods.
Natalie Freeman, of the institute's Exposure Measurement and Assessment Division, said last week that researchers looked at prevailing winds in the area, as well as the age of homes throughout Dover, to select the 300 homeowners being asked to join the study.
Homeowners who agree to participate in the study will be visited by an institute researcher, who will collect dust from residents' attics that has been undisturbed by household activities. The dust will then be analyzed for a variety of potential contaminants.
Freeman said researchers plan to send letters to about 50 to 70 homeowners from each section of Dover.
"We expect some people will not want to participate," Freeman said.
She said scientists hope at least 200 homeowners will agree to take part in the study.
Paul Lioy, deputy director of the institute, said it is important for as many homeowners as possible to participate, "so we can actively assess historical atmospheric contaminant levels throughout the community."
Researchers are focusing on air emissions from 1960 to 1996. The ongoing study into elevated levels of some childhood cancers in Dover focuses on children diagnosed with cancer from 1979 to 1996.
Lioy said two sites in the township will also be selected for yearlong air monitoring. Researchers will test for volatile organic chemicals in the air and will collect data at the selected sites for six days during every two-week period. One of the sites will be located in the center of town, and one will be in a more residential area.
Lioy has said a final report on the air emissions testing will probably not be available until late this year or early in the year 2000.
Anyone with questions about the air testing should call Lioy or Freeman at (732) 445-0150.
Source: Asbury Park Press
Published: January 19, 1999
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