Dr Erin Haynes is a researcher from the University of Cincinnati who has initiated a pilot study to examine manganese exposure in local people.

She says the health consultation records important benchmarks for local air exposure.

“This is right now the only measure of metal people can be exposed to by inhalation, so I guess that's the main reason why people should be interested in this,” Haynes said.

And, Haynes said the consultation's findings were significantly high.

“The average that they found at the Washington County Career Center was .076 micrograms per cubic meter, and that's fairly high considering that in Southeast Quebec one of the highest levels they found at a closed ferroalloy plant was .035,” Haynes said. “Then they did health studies in Quebec and those levels were high enough to result in some outcomes that were measurable.”

A study of the exposed population in Quebec, Canada observed physical outcomes in the people who had a history of contamination through industrial emissions.

 

“In Quebec they looked at some of the more subtle effects - tremor and movement,” Haynes said. “And they did find effects on movement, even at levels as low as they found in Quebec. In Marietta, it appears the levels are higher.”

Haynes said the information is important for people living in the Valley, but not just for adults.

“So far most of the research is focused on adults,” Haynes said. “We have yet to really discover what the effects at this level of exposure has on children.”

Tomorrow, we'll be talking more with Dr. Haynes and she will reveal some of the findings from her pilot study, including the levels of exposure found in the blood and hair of local people.