Cadmium Tests Offered to Families

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Cadmium Tests Offered to Families

By CHAUNCEY ROSS, Gazette Staff WriterOctober 20, 2003Officials try to determine

if more people exposed Blood tests have been offered for relatives of some

deceased Indiana County residents whose post-mortem exams showed toxic levels of

the heavy metal cadmium, according to Michael Baker, the chief deputy coroner

for Indiana County.

The tests might show the extent of cadmium exposure in some particular

households, but whether they will shed light on why the substance has been

detected in the bodies of so many people in so many parts of Indiana County is

anyone's guess.

State police, Indiana County Coroner Thomas Streams and Baker revealed Friday

that cadmium has been detected in the bodies of 10 people who died this year in

Indiana County.

Medical officials infrequently ran tests for heavy metal in deceased people, but

made it a routine practice after finding that Brush Valley retiree Russell

Repine died last year with more than 200 times the normal level of cadmium in

his blood.

Cadmium is found in rechargeable batteries, paint, fertilizer, pesticides,

welding supplies and metal coatings. It is odorless and tasteless; people ingest

it by breathing or eating it.

Unable to find any apparent connections among the 11 people who died with

cadmium in their systems, investigators have begun to discount suspicions that

Repine was deliberately poisoned and are considering that he and the others

somehow encountered cadmium in their environments.

The findings make officials wonder whether cadmium contributed to other deaths

in past years and whether the substance continues to threaten county residents.

" It may be going on right now, and not just here in Indiana County, " said Bernie

Smith, chairman of the Indiana County commissioners.

" I believe we should test in other areas of western Pennsylvania. If you don't

test, you don't know. "

Repine's cadmium level was 352 micrograms per liter. The average person has 1.2

to 1.5 mcg/L, Baker said.

Tests showed a cadmium level of 1005 mcg/L in the body of 44-year-old Walter

Pardee of Plumville, who died Sept. 14; a reading of 600 mcg/L in the remains of

72-year-old Burnell Dwyer, who died in his home in Nowrytown on Aug. 4, and a

level of 348 mcg/L in the body of Violet Shuster of Buffington Township, who

died Sept. 22 at age 75.

Pardee collapsed and died a day after being exposed to smoke from a trash fire,

Baker said.

Dwyer died of a bowel ailment following a brief illness, and Shuster died of a

heart attack after years of declining health.

The other seven people whose remains have shown traces of cadmium lived in

scattered areas of the county, Baker said. A traffic accident killed one and

most of the others died of heart problems.

The only common thread is that they all lived in rural areas, according to

Baker.

The state police and coroner's office have arranged to pay for tests for

Shuster's husband, Bud, and members of Pardee's family who lived with him, if

they want to submit to them.

Dwyer lived alone, according to Baker, and blood tests haven't been suggested

for his relatives.

Tests on personal items collected from Dwyer's and Shuster's homes haven't been

completed, Baker said.

The coroner's office and state police have asked the FBI, the Centers for

Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration to help solve the mystery.

" People can blame it on anything, but we truly don't know, " Smith said. " But the

problem's there and it's in different sections of the county.

" And there appears to be no criminal link. Initially that's what it looked, like

but that's been tossed aside. "

Streams said on Friday that he has asked coroners of other counties to test for

cadmium in the bodies of people who die suddenly and unexpectedly.

Smith said he agrees that cadmium poisoning may not be a local issue.

" I think it should be delved into on a larger scale. I don't believe it's an

Indiana County problem; it could be a widespread regional problem, " Smith said.

" And we need state and federal resources to find out.

" To put a blame on one thing... power plant or water wells... we really don't

know. We have to be careful that we don't scare people and frighten them when we

don't know what we're talking about. "

 

 

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