Environmental factors are not responsible for a number of cancer cases among NASA Glenn employees who worked in Building 500 (above) or Building 501, according to a government study. (West Life file photo)

Workers’ illnesses not related to jobs at NASA Glenn
By Kevin Kelley
Westshore
Published Oct. 15, 2008

A curiously high number of cancer cases among workers from two buildings at the NASA Glenn Research Center were not caused by environmental factors, according to a government study.

The study, conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Ohio Department of Health, investigated 65 cases of cancer reported by employees or former employees of Buildings 500 and 501 since 1985. The buildings, located north of Brookpark Road, contained administrative offices, Glenn Director Woodrow Whitlow Jr. said. The buildings contained no laboratories, he added.

“The institute concluded that the cancers that were reported are not associated with the fact that people worked in these buildings,” Whitlow said.

“Evidence leads to non-occupational causes,” the Glenn director said.

The investigation showed that the number and types of cancers reported did not appear unusual, according to Thomas W. Hartline, Glenn’s director of Safety and Mission Assurance.

“They really are not much different than what we would expect to see in the general population around here, especially considering the age factors and lifestyle factors,” Hartline said.

By contrast, cancer clusters linked to an environmental cause tend to consist of a single, rare type of cancer, the study said.

Of the 65 cases, nine were diagnosed prior to working in the two buildings. That left 56 cases in 54 people. Of those, eight were diagnosed within five years of working in the buildings.

Of those 54, 11 people worked on the first floor, 13 on the second, and 30 on the third. Those diagnosed with cancer tended to be older and were more likely to have smoked, the study said.

Hartline said the center worked with the employees’ union and NIOSH, a division of the federal Centers For Disease Control, and the Ohio Department of Health to conduct an independent investigation that the employees would have confidence in.

Current employees and retirees were asked to fill out a one-page questionnaire asking for health related information.

“We looked at a lot of potential causes,” Hartline said.

The study considered the proximity of the buildings to Hopkins International Airport and its use of deicing agents but identified no significant hazardous exposures. While the building does contain asbestos, exposures in office buildings are usually limited to maintenance staff and are typically low, the study said.

NASA Glenn provided over 25 years worth of environmental testing on factors such as lead, asbestos and water quality in the building to Elena H. Page, M.D., the study’s director, Hartline said.

Whitlow, Hartline and Page presented their findings to Glenn employees Oct. 8.

“There are some employees who still have a concern,” Whitlow said, noting that cancer still strikes fear. Other employees expressed gratitude for educating workers on cancer and its causes and prevention, he added.

“My No. 1 priority here is to provide a safe and healthy work environment for our employees,” Whitlow said.

In accordance with plans made before the cancer concerns were raised, NASA Glenn plans to vacate Buildings 500 and 501 a year from now, then tear them down, Whitlow said. Specific plans for this land, known at Glenn as  the North Campus, have yet to be made, Whitlow said. NASA will not directly fund the redevelopment of the North Campus, which is part of Fairview Park, but will work with regional agencies and potential contractors on the section of Glenn property, Whitlow said. The visitors center could be relocated to the North Campus, but Whitlow said NASA is also looking at downtown locations. Whitlow said he did not have a preference on where to locate the visitors center.

NASA Glenn is about to launch a 20-year, $150-million master plan for the center. The facility will break ground for a new centralized office building, to be located on the main campus, in 2010 or 2011, Whitlow said.

On the Web:

• NASA Glenn Research Center
• NASA Glenn news release on NIOSH study
• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)