Occupants of the Literature Building in Earl Warren College are worried about the possibility of a “”cancer cluster”” inside the building after discovering that five cases of breast cancer, two cases of uterine cancer and one case of glandular cancer have been diagnosed in building staffers over the past 16 years.
Administrators have sent an epidemiologist to investigate a possible “”cancer cluster”” in the Literature Building following numerous diagnoses among the building’s occupants.
At a meeting last month, Daphne Thaung, the industrial hygiene manager at the UCSD Environment, Health and Safety Office, and Sarah Woodard, an associate industrial hygienist with EH&S, met with several Literature Building administrators and other occupants to address the possibility of a cancer cluster in the building. While the high incidences of cancer may seem abnormal, Thaung said that determining whether a cancer cluster exists is more complicated than looking at the numbers.
“”There could be [an] infinite amount of things we could look into and not go anywhere,”” Thaung said.
At the meeting, several officials expressed concern over certain areas of the building where potential dangerous situations had occurred, including dirty air filters, pungent water around the building and dust buildups in several offices.
Thaung and East Side Facilities Superintendent Gary Jones addressed such concerns, saying that the air filters are changed every one to two months, water leakage near the side of the building was repaired and that excessive dust most likely enters through open windows and doors. The dust is not indicative of poor ventilation, he said. There was also concern over UCSD’s reclaimed water system used for landscaping, but Jones said that the water to that area of campus comes from the city’s water system, and that UCSD’s reclaimed water system is highly filtered and meets all the standards for safe water usage.
“”We wouldn’t have that system if there were health issues,”” Jones said.
Thaung pointed out that the Literature Building is administrative and does not contain chemicals or industrial solutions that would normally cause concern, although an employee pointed out that the building is close to several engineering buildings, and that ventilation from these buildings may be a problem.
However, a facilities worker mentioned that crewmen work on the roofs of these buildings frequently – where such air is expelled – and they have experienced no ill effects. Also, these buildings’ environmental stressor levels are monitored, making the risk factors for other buildings in the area almost nonexistent, Thaung said.
After the concerns were expressed, building occupants decided that tests should be administered to determine whether a high amount of environmental stressors was present. Thaung conducted tests to rule out several different carcinogenic factors, including a measurement of electromagnetic fields, water coliform levels, drinking water metal levels and air particulate counts. All of the tests yielded results that were either below the measurable level or below average, indicating that these factors were not significant enough to warrant concern.
Thaung then reviewed her findings with Literature Department Chair Don Wayne, Literature Management Service Officer Lucinda Rubio-Barrick and Cedric F. Garland, an epidemiologist who was approached to review the studies and past literature on cancer clusters to determine if a cluster does in fact exist.
Thaung recommended Garland because of his involvement in researching the possible cancer cluster in the Chancellor’s Building several years ago.
A disease cluster is defined when a greater than average number of cases occurs within a group of people, an area or a period of time. Furthermore, cancer clusters can further be identified when a large number of cases of the same cancer appear, or when a rare type of cancer appears in abundance.
Most cancer is thought to be caused by a combination of the surrounding environment and genetic makeup of an individual, and most studies by epidemiologists investigate these two factors. The tests completed by EH&S measured environmental factors of the Literature Building, and the results indicated no abnormal levels of environmental stressors. Thaung said that the mere presence of certain stressors is not enough to cause rational concern.
“”It’s all based upon concentration level,”” Thaung said. “”If people were more informed on the toxicology it would make it easier. I think the public perception is zero tolerance for everything, and that’s not how the real world works. Otherwise you would be living in a bubble. You can have any substance as long as it is in safe levels. Even water can be hazardous if we drink too much.””
Thaung also said breast cancer is common; and although it is unfortunate, five cases over 16 years does not by itself indicate the existence of a cluster, she said. The patients’ personal histories, past experiences and family histories must all be taken into consideration and checked in congruence with past information about known carcinogens and cancer causing factors, she said.
There were originally seven reported cases of breast cancer, but a closer inspection of the histories revealed that two cases were diagnosed before those people had begun to work in the Literature Building.
According to Wayne, Chancellor Marye Anne Fox has been notified of the possible problems; Fox informed Vice Chancellor of Business Affairs Steven W. Relyea and Vice Chancellor of Health Sciences David Brenner of the situation.
Thaung sent the studies’ results to Garland last week, and is awaiting his final assessment before meeting with the building’s occupants again to discuss the findings.
“”I want to stress that when people bring situations up to our system we take it seriously and we address it very proactively as much as we can and we get the right people involved,”” Thaung said.