Acid Pits Causing No Major Health Woes for Its Neighbors, Study Finds

A state health department study released Tuesday shows that residents living near the Stringfellow acid pits in Riverside County show no significant health problems as a result of the toxic waste dump.

The $300,000, three-year study showed no abnormal rates for cancer, heart attacks, miscarriages or birth defects in residents living near the pits, officials told a public hearing on the report.

About 2,000 residents of this community and surrounding areas were involved in the study, which showed nearly double the normal rate of minor health problems--including ear infections, chest pains and skin rashes. But health officials downplayed those results, saying residents may have been more likely to report or recall symptoms because of the publicity surrounding the dump.

UCLA Scientists’ Study

The study was conducted by scientists at UCLA under the auspices of the state Department of Health Services and the Riverside County Health Department.

Results were released Tuesday at the news conference and later explained to about 100 people who attended a town meeting at Glen Avon Elementary School.

The dump, which opened in 1955 and closed about 10 years ago, contained large quantities of toxic chemicals. It was plagued by a series of floods in the 1970s which carried contaminated water through storm drains in Glen Avon and Pyrite, and many residents reported miscarriages, cancer, birth defects and skin rashes that they believed were the result of the chemicals.

Plans for Future Study

Health officials said they would meet with a community advisory committee and the federal Centers for Disease Control to discuss plans for another study that could include people who have moved from the area.

An earlier study showed the radioactivity in ground water near the dump is coming from natural sources and not the acid pits, but community activists disputed the results.

About 400 families have been provided bottled drinking water by the state since June, 1984, when elevated radiation levels were found in wells in the area.

During its 20 years of operation, Stringfellow received about 230 million gallons of toxic and cancer-causing chemicals.