Health Consultation: Drinking Water Investigation, Kiwanis Lake Subdivision, Newbury Township, Geauga County, Ohio

摘要

On November 21, 2002, the Health Assessment Section (HAS) of the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) received a call from Robert Fioritto, a Newbury Township trustee, regarding a concern of some citizens that there were an abnormal number of cases of cancer in a small rural subdivision in Geauga County known as Kiwanis Lake. Mr. Fioritto relayed that the residents of Kiwanis Lake are fearful that the drinking water source they are currently using may be contaminated and may be the source of the suspected increase in cancer cases. Residents appear to be concerned that a local liquid waste hauling facility, Manfredi Motor Transit, or possibly other industrial sources in the area may have contaminated their drinking water supply. As a result of the concerns that the groundwater may be contaminated, the ODH and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) sampled approximately twenty-five (25) residential wells in the community to determine if the local groundwater aquifer was contaminated and could potentially be causing adverse health effects in the residents of Kiwanis Lake. The Community Health Assessment Section of the ODH is currently working with an epidemiologist from the Geauga County Health Department to review cancer incidence data from the Ohio Cancer Incidence Surveillance System to determine if the rate of cancer in the Kiwanis Lake Community is elevated above what would be expected for the community. This health consultation documents the results of the residential well sampling. A report detailing the results of the cancer assessment is currently being completed and will be released separately from this report.