710,206 people in Monroe County face a cancer risk more than 100 times the goal set by the Clean Air Act.²

1.0 Emissions

1.1 Emissions and Health Problems

High levels of cancer-causing chemical emissions from Eastman Kodak have polluted Rochester's air and the Great Lakes Basin for many years.

Most recent Toxic Release Inventory data shows that Kodak is New York State's number one manufacturing polluter and the top polluter in Monroe County, where Kodak is headquartered.³

Monroe County ranks among the worst 20% of all counties in the country in terms of an average individual's added cancer risk from hazardous pollutants. In fact, 710,206 people in Monroe County face a cancer risk more than 100 times the goal set by the Clean Air Act.⁴

Kodak's two antiquated on-site hazardous waste incinerators at the Rochester plant release more dioxins and hexavalent chromium (a carcinogen and respiratory intoxicant) than all the other tested New York State (NYS) hazardous waste incinerators combined.⁵

But the problem does not stop with bad air. Monroe County, an important watershed for the Great Lakes, is also ranked in the worst 20% of all counties in the country for toxic chemical land and surface water releases. From 1990 to 1994, Kodak reported releasing:

the greatest amounts of carcinogens
persistent toxic metals
reproductive toxins

to any New York waterway: 2,764,467 pounds into the Genesee River, which drains into Lake Ontario, a drinking water source for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers.⁶

Kodak regularly puts Monroe County in the top 10% among US counties for air releases, water releases, total offsite transfers and total production related waste. They are also one of the largest emitters of cancer causing chemicals in America.⁷

1.2 Emissions Data

1.2.1. 1999 Emissions Data and Health Hazards Chart
1.2.2 Kodak's Pollution Ranking in NewYork
1.2.3 Kodak's Pollution Ranking in the United State
1.2.4 Graphic based on 2000 TRI Data for Monroe County

1.3 Dangerous Dioxin Emissions

See our Dioxin page here.

1.4 A Snapshot of Methylene Chloride

Methylene chloride is one of Kodak's main pollutants. The company released 1,271,000 pounds of it at Kodak Park alone in 2000.⁸ Methylene chloride is also a potential carcinogen, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) agrees and regulates it as a workplace carcinogen.

Between 1990 and the Spring of 1997, outside air monitoring at the KodaVista neighborhood fence line revealed an annual average level of methylene chloride as high as 23 parts per billion (ppb). Recent fence-line monitoring found increased air concentrations as high as 66 ppb. That is eight times higher than the Department of Conservation's 8 ppb guideline and nearly four times higher than the State Health Department's guideline of 17 ppb.⁹ In 1997, The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Division of Air Resources recently established the annual guideline concentration for methylene chloride to be .6 parts per billion, so the methylene chloride levels surrounding Kodak are clearly unacceptable.

Accidents happen. But who is accountable when those accidents involve potentially cancer-causing chemical spills? In 1995, for nearly seven months, Kodak failed to discover and correct a faulty vent. This careless oversight caused the release of about 30 tons of solvents into the Rochester community's air, including more than 10 tons (21,364 pounds) of methylene chloride.¹⁰

In 1997, Kodak announced plans to boost their production of polyester base used for movie film. The consequence of heightened production is a potential increase of 90,000 pounds of methylene chloride emissions annually.¹¹ In reaction to this, Kodak installed a new scrubbing system in December 1997, to minimize environmental releases. However, two weeks after they installed the system, it malfunctioned. Over a six-hour period on December 17, 1997, about one ton of methylene chloride spewed into the air.¹²

2.0 Health Problems

2.1 Cancer Rates

Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, Kodak's decades of pollution may be taking a profound toll; especially for the 20% of the population living within a quarter mile of Kodak that is under ten years old and developmentally vulnerable to toxics.

According to the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute, Monroe County is in the highest 10% for mortality rates for 13 different cancers including:

breast
larynx
ovarian

Nine state, federal and community health investigations have investigated the area's dramatic health problems. The New York State Department of Health (DOH) found that between 1983 and 1995, 446 Monroe County children were diagnosed with cancer.¹³ The same agency found "women living near Kodak Park had approximately an 80% greater risk of developing pancreatic cancer," a debilitating, often fatal disease.¹⁴

The unusual cancer levels have been publicized on television and radio shows, in area newspapers, national environmental publications and the Ladies' Home Journal, leading one new mother to call Citizens' Environmental Coalition (CEC) before buying a home in Rochester. Once informed of Kodak's emissions, the area's health problems and what she could do to protect her family, she bought a home upwind of Kodak's hazardous waste incinerators. Unfortunately, this is not a solution for thousands of Rochester residents.

2.2 Childhood Cancer

Children are highly sensitive to the effects of toxic chemicals in the environment (See Sensitive Populations for more information about the particular sensitivity of children to toxic chemicals).

In 1997 alone, 33 cases of childhood brain and spinal cord cancer were reported within a five-mile radius of Kodak Park.

After appealing to government agencies, health professionals and others, some families resorted to a clearer appeal for justice. Recently, the families of five children stricken with cancer filed a $75 million class-action suit against Kodak in New York State Supreme Court. They allege that Kodak's pollution caused their children's cancer.¹⁵

Moreover, one Rochester-area mother uncovered the names of 119 Monroe County children under the age of 21 diagnosed with cancer since 1994. Of those children, 64 had diagnoses of central nervous system cancer: cancer of the brain or spine.
In February 1998, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) released a report on the apparent cluster of childhood brain cancer in Monroe County. Their evaluation netted only the following recommendations:

1. Health education for affected families and interested community members about brain cancer and the relationship between brain cancer and the environment;
2. An "intensive review" of all childhood brain cancer cases appearing from 1976 to the most recent year;
3. Regular surveillance of the Monroe County incidence of childhood brain/CNS cancer.¹⁶

The ATSDR evaluation also reported an "excess of thyroid cancers in young girls in Monroe County."

Although thyroid cancer was not the focus of this evaluation, the numbers of reported cases in children drew the attention of ATSDR investigators. Three of these cases were diagnosed in 11- and 12-year old girls between October 1996 and March 1997. These numbers indicates that there may be an excess of thyroid cancers in young girls in Monroe County.¹⁷

So what do these studies mean and exactly who will fund, perform, and report on the follow-up studies recommended by ATSDR? Since ATSDR has experienced past public criticism¹⁸, can the agency be trusted to produce unbiased studies? Clearly, the limited cancer studies conducted to date reveal some staggering statistics that beg a number of questions:

What other disease trends are yet to be uncovered in Monroe County?
Is there a relationship between the toxic chemicals in the community and the illnesses experienced?
Can government agencies produce credible studies?

2.3 Intensive Review of Childhood Brain Cancer Cases

In response to pressure by parents, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) conducted an initial assessment of childhood brain and spinal chord cancer cases in Monroe County, calling for an "intensive review" of all cases occurring from 1976 to the present date and health education for affected families interested in the relationship between brain cancer and the environment. Any substantive review has yet to be made public, however.

ATSDR should hire a team of independent scientists to conduct an intensive review of childhood brain cancer cases. This investigation should particularly focus on any possible links between Eastman Kodak's major dioxin and other toxic releases and the alarming number of childhood brain cancer incidences in Monroe County. The ATSDR should hold a public meeting in order to inform the public about what they have done to begin the process of undertaking this intensive review.

2.4 Pancreatic Cancer

Health studies indicating risks from Kodak's pollution emissions are of great concern to Rochester residents. In 1995, a study by the New York State Department of Health (DOH) concluded, "Women living near Kodak Park had approximately an 80% greater risk of developing pancreatic cancer", an aggressive and usually fatal disease. Likewise, "the study documented 32 cases of pancreatic cancer among women living near Kodak Park over an 11-year period, versus an expected norm of 19 [cases]."

That same study reported that women who have pancreatic cancer are nearly twice as likely to live near Kodak Park as any where else. The study also uncovered "a pattern suggesting increasing risk with increasing exposure." The longer women live near Kodak Park the greater their likelihood to develop pancreatic cancer. "When only the women who had resided in the area for at least twenty years were considered, living near Kodak Park was associated with a 96% increased risk for pancreatic cancer."¹⁹

2.5 Cancer Mapping

One way to assess health outcomes related to toxic exposures is through cancer mapping and statistical reports, utilizing the country's oldest Cancer Registry at the New York State Department of Health (DOH).

For several years, Citizens' Environmental Coalition (CEC) has pressed DOH to release targeted cancer maps, especially in areas like Monroe County where suspicious cancer clusters exist. Finally, in December 1999, DOH released the first in a series of maps showing the incidence of various types of cancer. Unfortunately, the maps excluded testicular and prostate cancer (associated with endocrine-disrupting chemicals emitted by Kodak), central nervous system cancers, leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (of particular concern to parents living near Kodak).

Widely criticized, the maps used broad gradations (20 to 40%) instead of the more common 10% that provides a more precise picture of county cancer rates. Still, the report reveals that Monroe County cancer rates rank above the norm.²⁰

The DOH needs to release targeted, accurate cancer maps that may be linked to high emissions of endocrine disrupter, including the incidence of central nervous system, testicular and prostate cancers, and leukemia in Monroe County children. There should be useful neighborhood, city and county maps. Maps should use gradations of 10% that provide a more precise picture of county cancer rates as opposed to gradations of 20-40% like was done in 1999. Increasing Monroe County cancer rates, especially in children, necessitate these targeted and accurate maps.

2.6 Sensitive Populations

Sensitive Populations are vulnerable groups of people whose health will be particularly threatened during an environmental accident at Kodak. Emissions from the accidents that take place at Kodak each year could potentially impact thousands of children, put seniors at risk, and compromise environmental justice.

Children
Twenty percent of the population living within a quarter mile of Kodak Park is under 10 years old and regularly exposed to toxic chemicals. Twenty-one schools are located within three miles of the Kodak facility. Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) listed six grade schools and eight high schools as part of the population particularly sensitive to Kodak's annual fugitive releases of toxic chemicals, meaning, they are most vulnerable to one of Kodak's average 100 accidental spills and releases each year. As in 1990, when after a chemical spill, a grade school had to be shut down for air quality testing inside classrooms because chemical contamination was found on school property. Children are highly sensitive to the effects of toxic chemicals in the environment. Proportionately they breathe in more air, eat more food and drink more water than adults. They spend more time outdoors, on the ground and are more likely to put their hands in their mouths, exposing them to potentially contaminated dust and soil. Because a child's body is still forming, these chemicals interfere with vital growth and development. Dioxin is particularly insidious because it attacks our DNA and enters the very nucleus of our cells where it alters hormone regulation and development.

Children are perhaps most sensitive to the effects of toxic chemicals because their bodies are still in critical stages of growth and development. Proportionate to adults, they increase their rate of exposure to toxics by breathing more air, eating more food, and drinking more water. They also engage in outdoor play and frequent hand to mouth activity, greater exposing them to air and soil toxics.

18% of the population living within a ½ mile of Kodak is under 10 years old. Within a quarter mile of the 2,300-acre facility, 20% of residents are under 10. That equals over 700 children exposed to toxic chemicals on a daily basis.

In 1997, under the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act, the DEC said the following school populations are particularly sensitive to Kodak's annual fugitive releases:

School #7 (K-6) Southlawn School (K-3)
Buckman Heights School (3-5)
Parkland School Nazareth Academy (9-12)
St. Margaret Mary School (K-6)
School #41 (K-6)

Dangerous contaminants were found in the schoolyard of School #41 after a 1998 accident at Kodak Park. The school was shut down so that indoor air quality testing could be done in the classrooms.

Sacred Heart School (K-8)
Greece Olympia High School (9-12)
Rogers School (4-6)
Hoover Drive School Benjamin Franklin School (9-12)
Marshall High School (9-12)

Seniors
Another sensitive population to Kodak's pollution is the elderly. Close to Kodak's facility is the Maplewood Nursing Home and just east of the site 1,558 people 65 years and older represent over 22% of the population. A lifetime of chemical exposure coupled with a weakened immune system can put elderly people at greater risk of suffering the adverse health effects of toxic chemicals.

Environmental Justice
Meanwhile, environmental justice is an issue for families living within half a mile of Kodak, where the average household income is $7,343 lower than the county average. Within a quarter mile of Kodak, residents of color make up over 20% of the population. Our Kodak campaign seeks to address the disproportionate environmental health effects on vulnerable populations in Monroe County.

2.7 Reducing Cancer Risks

To help reduce the cancer risks that Rochester area residents face, Kodak needs to comply with EPA's "Policy on National Air Toxics Program: The Integrated Urban Strategy".

This Urban Strategy calls for the least possible toxic emissions in densely populated areas such as Rochester. Over 13,000 families live along the perimeter of Kodak's 2,300-acre manufacturing facility, with 20% of the population under 10 within a ¼ mile of the facility. The objective of the Strategy is to move away from assessing toxic reductions in tons per year, and "towards a focus on estimating reductions in cancer and non-cancer risks associated with lower emissions."

EPA's goal is to "achieve a 75-percent reduction in cancer incidence attributable to Hazardous Air Pollutants emitted by stationary sources."

In light of Kodak's standing as one of the country's largest emitters of cancer-causing pollutants; increased pancreatic cancer among women; and an unusual children's cancer cluster, Kodak needs to take substantive steps to achieve this reduction. We urge Kodak to:

1. Make a commitment to phasing out and ultimately shutting down Kodak's two hazardous waste incinerators: Building 218 and Building 95. Kodak can utilize source reduction techniques and alternative technologies to eliminate the waste streams going into these incinerators.
2. Finance an independent investigation of the health effects in the Rochester community.
3. Install ambient air monitors to notify people when toxic emissions enter neighborhoods.
4. In conjunction with NYS, do a comprehensive risk assessment of Kodak's toxic releases. This should be done with wind pattern analysis to identify whether Kodak's dioxin emissions are reaching St. Lawrence County, a top dairy producer in NYS.
5. Develop and implement a plan to reduce Kodak's toxic emissions so Rochester can work towards a 75% reduction in cancer rates in accordance with the EPA's "Policy on National Air Toxics Program: The Integrated Urban Strategy."

3.0 Links

Scorecard is a helpful source for free and easily accessible local information on toxic releases. Simply type in a zip code to learn about environmental issues in your community. Scorecard ranks and compares the pollution situation in areas across the US. Scorecard also profiles 6,800 chemicals, making it easy to find out where they are used and how hazardous they are. Using authoritative scientific and government data, Scorecard provides the most up-to-date and extensive collection of environmental information available online.

• Kodak demographics fact sheet

• "Monroe Cancer Rate Above Norm", Democrat & Chronicle, 12/10/99

• EPA's "Policy on National Air Toxics Program: The Integrated Urban Strategy"

• New York State Department of Health cancer maps

The mission of Health-Track, supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts, is to help American families and communities identify and track the links between environmental hazards and illnesses and to provide researchers and public health officials with the necessary tools to prevent disease.

Two statutes, Section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act (EPCRA) and section 6607 of the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA), mandate that a publicly accessible toxic chemical database be developed and maintained by US EPA. This database, known as the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), contains information concerning waste management activities and the release of toxic chemicals by facilities that manufacture, process, or otherwise use said materials. Using this information, citizens, businesses, and governments can work together to protect the quality of their land, air and water.

4.0 Citations

1www.scorecard.org

²www.scorecard.org

³www.scorecard.org

⁴www.scorecard.org

⁵New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Comparison of Average Emissions for New York State Waste Combustors. October 20,1995

⁶Environmental Working Group, United States Public Interest Research Group. Dishonorable Discharge: Toxic Pollution of New York Waters. September 1996. Tables 3,7,8,1.

⁸www.epa.gov/triexplorer

⁹Ireland, Corydon, Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, NY. Page 1A. May 15, 1997.

¹⁰Ireland, Corydon. Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, NY. January 19, 1998

¹¹Ireland, Corydon, Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, NY. Page 1A. May 15, 1997.

¹²Kodak Incident Report, NYSDEC #9710609. December 17, 1997

¹³The Incidence of Tumors of the Brain and Central Nervous System among Children in Monroe County, New York - Data Through 1995. NYSDOH

¹⁴New York State Department of Health Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology. Pancreatic Cancer Among Women in an Area with Potential Exposure to Methylene Chloride (Dichloromethane). March 1995

¹⁵Ireland, Corydon, Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, N.Y. Page 4B. March 24, 1998

¹⁶U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Atlanta, Georgia. Evaluation of Childhood Brain Cancer Investigations in Monroe County, New York. Page 8. February 1998

¹⁷U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Atlanta, Georgia. Evaluation of Childhood Brain Cancer Investigations in Monroe County, New York. Page 8. February 1998

¹⁸Environmental Health Network, National Toxics Campaign, Inconclusive By Design. May 1992

¹⁹New York State Department of Health Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology. Pancreatic Cancer Among Women in an Area with Potential Exposure to Methylene Chloride (Dichloromethane). March 1995

²⁰Ireland, Corydon. Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, NY. December 10, 1999