COPPERHILL, Tenn. — After waiting nearly four years for results of a study on whether working at the local acid plant increased the risk of cancer, two of the major players in getting the study under way aren’t happy with the findings.
The report by Dr. Gary Marsh and Dr. Nurtin Esmen showed cancer death rates for acid plant workers were no higher, and in some cases lower, than those of the general population.
“Death rates for Copperhill smelter workers were lower than expected for all causes of death and from specific cancer and noncancer causes,” the report states. The scientists were working on behalf of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. The report was released in July but not disseminated, according to NIOSH.
Nick Wimberly worked at the plant until a 1996 strike. He said many of his family and friends died of cancer and that he doesn’t believe the report’s conclusion.
He said toxic chemicals were used to make acid, and fumes from the plant damaged car finishes and gardens.
“I can think back to the fog and mists and orange smoke that drifted over this town,” Mr. Wimberly said. “I don’t know how they could have come to that conclusion.”
He thinks the death certificates the researchers studied may have been wrong. He said most deaths were listed as being from heart disease and other causes, even though many workers knew they had cancer.
“We just couldn’t get folks to look at that,” he said of the study.
Study officials were unavailable for comment on those claims.
The study included 2,422 men who worked in the smelter, mill or sulfur plant for three or more years between January 1946 and April 1996. The study determined whether the workers were alive or had died, and the cause of death.
The results agreed with a 1980 study also involving Dr. Marsh. The researchers said a good collection of company records allowed them to survey more workers than the previous study.
The report stated that 961 of the workers studied had died, including 228 deaths from cancer.
“This was 18 percent lower than expected based on national rates and 16 percent lower based on local county rates,” according to the study.
Union officials asked NIOSH for the study. Former boilermaker Tom Chastain was among the workers who made an effort to draw attention to what he considered dangerous conditions at the plant and his perception of an ever-growing number of cancer deaths in the area.
He died about four years ago from an aggressive form of cancer, and his wife, Debra, took up his challenge. But she said last week she’s realized it may be a losing battle.
“Tom never thought for one minute the results would change,” Mrs. Chastain said of the two studies.
Mr. Wimberly believes the second study was done only to reinforce the first study’s findings.
He said workers have moved away, some have died and some have lost the will to continue the battle.
“The main driving force was Tom Chastain,” he said.
The first acid plant was built in 1907 by the Tennessee Copper Co. Expansion took place over the years, with five additional acid plants built from 1941 through 1976. As new plants were built, old ones were closed, and No. 6 was closed in the year 2000, bringing acid production to a close.
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