Link Between Childhood Cancer And 1990s Wilmington Water: Study

WILMINGTON, MA — A two-decade study found a link between Wilmington's 1990s water supply and a cluster of childhood cancers, the state said Wednesday.

The state found a link between maternal, pre-natal exposure to carcinogens in the town's water and childhood cancers including leukemia and lymphoma during the 1990s.

Childhood cancer fell to normal levels starting in 2001 and the town's water no longer poses any known risk to public health, the state said.

There were two cases of childhood cancer diagnosed in town between 1982 and 1989, 22 between 1990 and 2001, and roughly one per year since, according to the state news release.

The study was launched in response to concerns from town residents and the Board of Health about a suspected cancer cluster in the south and west sections of town. It focused on the chemical n-nitrodimethylamine (NDMA) that originated from the Olin Chemical site at 51 Eames Street. It also investigated exposure to trichloroethylene (TCE) which was found in the water supply from an unknown source.

The town's public water supply no longer contains either chemical, the state said. An underground aquifer is still contaminated with NDMA, but it no longer supplies water to the town.

The Olin site is now an Environmental Protection Agency-managed Superfund Site, with a $48 million proposed cleanup plan announced last year.

The study had limitations including a small sample size, the state noted. But it went through three external peer reviewers and the results are statistically significant with respect to the association between NDMA and leukemia or lymphoma diagnoses.

The study only found a link to pre-natal exposure, the state said.

"There was no evidence of increased odds of cancer for children who were exposed to NDMA or TCE during childhood," according to the news release.

As reported by the Wilmington Apple, Town Manager Jeffrey Hull wrote to the selectmen that “progress has been hampered over the years by a lack of state funding, staff turnover within the agency, and mistakes made with respect to study protocols.”

Town officials and families of the children who were study subjects were briefed on the study Tuesday.

The executive summary, full study and other information is available here.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.