The study’s purpose is to look for possible health effects related to the operation of four commercial hazardous waste burners and other potential sources of environmental releases located in the Southeast Kansas communities of Chanute, Coffeyville, Fredonia, and Independence.  

Last December, after researchers met with Mayor Gordon Willhite, city commissioners, and other city and county officials, the city of Sedan agreed to serve as the study’s control community.  Researcher’s selected Sedan as the control community because it is located upwind from the study sites and does not have either hazardous waste burners or other industrial operations that could be potential sources of environmental emissions.  

Community involvement in the design and performance of the study is a major objective of this important project.  To achieve that end, information meetings have been held in each study community so that researchers have had an opportunity to meet with residents, and industry, business, and health officials, hear their concerns, discuss with them different aspects of the study, and take into consideration the information they gain from these meetings in developing the study’s final protocol. 

The two-and-one-half-year study, which began September 1, 1997, has three parts--respiratory health, cancer incidence and mortality rates, and environmental monitoring (air sampling and analysis).  Residents of the study and control communities will be asked not only to help in developing the study’s final protocol, but also to participate in a health survey and assessment that are key to the project’s respiratory health component.

During the next three months, researchers will complete the study’s final protocol.  When completed, the protocol will be made available to stakeholders in the study and control communities.   Public libraries in the five communities under study also will have copies of the protocol on hand for residents to review.

KUMC researchers who will attend the Sedan meeting include H. William Barkman, M.D., M.S.P.H., the study’s principal investigator; Mary Brothers, M.D.; John S. Neuberger, Dr. P.H.; and Dennis D. Wallace, Ph.D.  KU researchers who will attend the meetings include Dennis D. Lane, Ph.D., leader of the study’s environmental monitoring work; Richard Baldauf, M.S., and Ray E. Carter Jr., M.S., and Carrie Cote, B.S.