Residents of north Fayette and south Fulton counties reported illnesses by the hundreds beginning in the spring last year and continuing into the fall after inhaling what they initially thought must have been wild onions growing in the area. They later learned they were breathing MOCAP wash water, a combination of the chemical odorant Propyl mercaptan and the organophospate pesticide MOCAP, or ethoprop, released from the Philip Services Corp. waste treatment plant on Ga. Highway 92 in Fairburn.
The public comment release Wednesday of a months-long Health Consultation study conducted by Georgia Division of Public Health (DPH) and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a division of U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, concluded that residents did not appear to suffer long-term health effects and that no public health threat exists. Based on results from environmental data analyses, the epidemiological assessment of reported symptoms, and the scientific data on the behavior of the chemicals involved, propyl mercaptan was released into the air at the PSC plant in late June and most likely caused the symptoms reported by the community, the study said. The report also recommended no further actions at this time.
In its conclusions, the study noted that, “ethoprop does not readily evaporate and we have no evidence to suggest that the ethoprop got into the air. Therefore, we believe that the ethoprop posed no public health hazard to area residents. Ethoprop tends to break down rapidly in outdoor air (half-life of about 5.6 hours). In the breakdown process, some chemicals that have strong odors may be produced such as mercaptans. These by-products are less toxic than the parent pesticide.”
“The release of propyl mercaptan at the PSC facility posed a public health hazard because it likely caused temporary adverse health effects during the time of release in some residents in communities near PSC,” the study continued. “For some residents, these exposures had a negative impact on their health and quality of life. Since exposures were below the action level (of .5 parts per million) and we do not expect any continuing or long-term adverse health effects from this past exposure, the site currently poses no apparent public health hazard.”
Community Survey reports complied through the efforts of Fayette and Fulton counties showed that during May through August 2006, several hundred people in Fulton and Fayette communities reported a foul odor and/or symptoms consistent with odor effects including eye, mucous membranes, and the upper respiratory tract irritation, the study reported, noting that “These symptoms are nonspecific, and neither the individual symptoms nor the case definition based on two or more symptoms can definitively implicate a specific source or exposure. However, the pattern of symptoms reported from late June through August is consistent with exposure to propyl mercaptan reportedly present at the PSC facility during that time. Symptoms with onset following the release at the PSC plant that were familiar to those documented in the 1989 exposure in California, such as headache, burning eyes, etc., were likely due to propyl mercaptan exposure. These irritating symptoms have been highly annoying for many persons, and temporarily debilitating for some. It is also plausible that exposure to an odorous chemical irritant such as propyl mercaptan could have provoked or contributed to other acute adverse health events related to irritants; for example, asthma attacks or migraine headaches, in persons with predisposing conditions. Propyl mercaptan exposure cannot be definitively linked to some of the other reported symptoms and conditions.”
In its report on affected domestic animals and wildlife, the study went on to say that through the exposure surveys, emails and phone calls to DPH and other agency staff, and at public meetings, DPH received several reports of ill pets and wild animals. In response, DPH developed an animal illness survey form, and contacted all residents who reported ill pets or wild animals and asked to complete the survey. After analyzing the data from these surveys, there was no evidence of impact to wild animals, though there were a few reports of dead bees and birds, researchers said.
The report said grouping the animals by time of onset, location of residence, or amount of time spent outdoors did not identify a consistent pattern of clinical signs that would suggest common exposure to a toxic chemical. The survey of pet illnesses was done to assess whether the animals had a set of clinical signs suggesting a possible common environmental exposure. Dozens of pets were reported with acute clinical signs, and several were reported to have died. The data did not show a consistent pattern of clinical signs that could be clearly linked to an environmental chemical exposure; however, it is plausible that some clinical signs could have been caused by exposure to propyl mercaptan, the study concluded.
Long-time South Fulton resident Earl Hindman, one of the 44,000 people living within a five-mile radius of the plant, was not impressed with the study findings. Though he completed the Health Survey and has spoken with state officials about the deteriorating health condition of his wife, Hindman said he has never been contacted by anyone associated with the Health Consultation or any previous study efforts. Hindman’s wife Clare began manifesting severe physical symptoms during the same time the onion-like chemical smell began in May 2006. Today, with her condition continuing to worsen, including the loss of 60 percent of her lung capacity and a diagnosis of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Hindman has little faith in state and federal health and environmental agencies.
“They’ve all chosen to believe the word of a company over the word of hundreds of citizens,” Hindman said. “I’ve found medical reports linking ALS with pesticide exposure, where the conditions that came from the exposure had been misdiagnosed as ALS. I’ve also found reports suggesting that a genetic predisposition for ALS can exist in some people, but is not set off until an exposure to the pesticide occurs.”
A local citizens advocacy group formed last year as the onion-like smell began to permeate the communities. South Fulton/Fayette Community Task Force Chairman Connie Biemiller echoed Hindman’s words in a response to the release of the Health Consultation. Her statement reflects the inaccuracies of statements made by PSC about the 38 shipments of MOCAP wash water received at the plant on which the study is based, the total of only four shipments PSC documentated with Fulton County during the same one-week period and the extended period of time prior to the first reported shipments where area residents were complaining of the identical onion smell and experiencing the same symptoms. Those discrepancies were not taken into account in the DPH/ATSDR study.
“The State Department of Health, who is paid by the citizens of Georgia, has only reported what the PSC Corporation has told them with regard to exposure times and dates when clearly the citizens that they serve reported otherwise,” Biemiller said. “Health is unwilling to go to the next step and admit that our community was exposed to a pesticide over a three-month period. Not one physical test was performed on a single person or animal in our community during the time of exposure or even now 11 months later.”
The public comment period for the Health Consultation ends June 15. ATSDR can be contacted at (800) CDC-INFO (232-4636) or at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov