Linda Briles, Environmental Health Specialist with the Blackford County Health Department, collecting a well sample for BCCC’s well testing project.
An example of one of the soil sampling maps. This one shows the Montpelier baseball fields, formerly the site of National Window and Bent Glass Company.
A meeting of the Blackford County Concerned Citizens at the Blackford County Historical Society. The Historical Society provided maps and research materials on the county’s industrial history and the locations of glass factories and oil and gas wells.
Assessment: BCCC began in 2009 with discussions among community members who felt the county had too many cases of cancer and ALS. We were concerned that contaminants left by the county’s industries might be contributing to disease rates. Once we had formed the organization, we gathered data on the county’s disease rates and industrial contamination. Data on cancer came from the Indiana Cancer Registry. We gathered data on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis among county residents via a health survey. We gathered data on dumping sites and industrial emissions from public records held by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. The county Historical Society provided data on historical industry locations. In 2014 we raised money through private donations and a grant from the Blackford County Community Foundation that allowed us to hire an environmental health project director. The project director helped us prioritize ways to assess potential environmental exposures.
Soil results: Lead was found at levels exceeding the EPA’s standard in one sample at the Montpelier baseball fields, formerly the site of National Window and Bent Glass. Arsenic was found in several samples at the Hartford City baseball fields, formerly American Window Glass.
BCCC is working with both cities on measures to reduce harmful exposures at the baseball fields. The well and soil results will guide future projects. The results were discussed at a public forum April 25, attended by more than 60 community members who gave feedback in person and on evaluation forms that have not been tabulated, yet.
Sustaining the Work: In the spring of 2015 BCCC received a grant from the Blackford County Community Foundation and fundraised to continue to do research, seek solutions and provide community education to reduce the risk of cancer and neurologic disease. We plan to continue to investigate the safety of the county’s groundwater by learning about groundwater flow which will help indicate which wells are most at risk for our next round of well testing. We are also beginning work on potential exposure risks from other sites with contaminated soil. As we have with the well and soil tests so far, we will continue to seek solutions for any harmful exposures we identify and to provide information to the community on how to reduce risks. Our work will also be guided by input from the April 25 public forum where asked what the community would like BCCC to work on.
