DOH meets with Tonawanda residents

TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) - A state health department report says cancer rates are higher for people living around an industrial sector in the Tonawandas. Concerned residents met with state officials about those findings Tuesday night.

In the Sheridan Park neighborhood, the cases of leukemia in women are 93 percent higher than the rest of the state, excluding NYC. Bladder cancer is 24 percent higher for men and 81 percent higher for women.

State officials say their study does not determine what caused the cancer spike, but they say local industries are cleaning up their act. The monitoring determined extremely high levels of Benzene - the highest in all of NYS's air monitoring stations.

Clean Air Coalition Executive Director Erin Heaney said, "The levels right here at this monitor were 75 times higher than what the New York State Department of Health recommends that folks be exposed to."

At Tuesday night's meeting, Department of Health Research Scientist James Bowers said, "We've seen a lot of improvements as far as emissions go, from, among others, Tonawanda Coke, so that's good news for the community."

The state began their study of the area three years ago.