Oops! The state Health Department in Vermont says it made an error in a recent study that reported higher cancer rates in towns surrounding an old asbestos mine in the northern part of the state.
The department said it re-examined the data used in the initial study but that researchers mistakenly included data from the city of Newport. So now, apparently, with the exclusion of just one town, everything is much better. No longer do people living near the mine had a higher rate of lung cancer.
There are huge piles of asbestos waste remaining at the old mine. Asbestos exposure has been linked to lung cancer, and also to the lung disease asbestosis. Therefore, using syllogistic reasoning, wouldn’t it be logical to conclude that people living near an old mine where asbestos continues to blow around be at higher risk of developing asbestos diseases?
The state has issued a warning that it makes sense not to spend time on the mine site; nor to undertake recreational activities — like what, a picnic? — in the area.
Let’s hope the mines in Lowell and Eden may eventually become a Superfund site administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
