Residential Health Study of Families Living near the Drake Chemical Superfund Site in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania

Abstract

The Pennsylvania Department of Health conducted a health survey of a group of residents in the Lock Haven area who live in the immediate vicinity of the Drake Superfund site. A control group of residents were selected randomly from the remaining areas of Lock Haven. The study did not indicate the presence of any serious chronic health conditions in the exposed group of residents when compared with the control group. Significantly more individuals in the exposed group than the control group experienced skin problems and sleepiness for at least 1 month prior to the survey, indicative of a possible association between direct human exposure to toxic chemicals from the site and the manifestation of symptoms. The increased prevalence of the two symptoms may also have been caused by factors other than contaminants at the Drake site, e.g., stress, occupational exposure, or other etiologic agents, or it may be a spurious finding due to chance or biased reporting.