Dear teachers and parents of Syucuo Elementary School who participated in the schoolchildren health survey, Thank you all for helping and participating in the Epidemiology studies on the health of schoolchildren near FPG Petrochemical Complex, and thank you again for attending the health examination results briefing at 7pm on August 13th 2014, which was held by National Health Research Institutes research teams and clinicians, and assisted by Public Health Bureau and Education Department of Yunlin County Council. The research teams also gave individual counsel on health examination results...
A further communicative colloquium on the preliminary research results was host by Liu Jianguo MP in Legislation Yuan at 2-5pm on August 14th 2014. Through the discussion by academic experts, government departments, and residents, consensus has been made that "since the health research is public, there is need to facilitate adequate risk communication with the residents, students, parents, and local governments so that residents are fully aware of the long-term health risk." Therefore, our research teams had to reiterate and explain the long-term health risk here so as not to confuse public with two different interpretations.
VCM (vinyl chloride monomer) was classified by WHO IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) as Category 1 carcinogen, with long-term exposure causing liver damage such as abnormal liver function, hepatomegaly, cirrhosis, angiosarcoma, and liver cancer. Furthermore, animal studies indicate that early VCM exposure will increase cancer risk in adulthood. Hence, the United States ATSDR (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry) has classified infants and elementary school children as the highly sensitive group of VCM exposure. VCM, after entering bodies, is metabolized by cytochrome P450; at last stage the formed TdGA (thiodiglycolic acid) is excreted through urine. Most vinyl chloride in the environment comes from the polluted air or water produced by VCM or PVC plants, with a little coming from other materials in life such as second-hand smoke, Vitamin B, and particular chemicals.
The research regions covered by this study are 4 elementary schools in Mailiao, Yunlin: Syucuo Branch of Ciaotou Elementary School, Fengan Elementary School, Ciaotou Elementary School, Mailiao Elementary School. Among 4 elementary schools, the urinary TDGA levels are found to be the highest in Syucuo Elementary School, the closest to Petrochemical Complex, with the average TdGA concentration reaching as high as 193.06 μg/g-creatinine, which is significantly higher than Fengan Elementary School (101.05 μg/g-creatinine), Ciaotou Elementary School (121.32 μg/g-creatinine), and Mailiao Elementary School (113.52 μg/g-creatinine). In addition, such differences in the level of concentration are not affected by second-hand smoke exposure, Vitamin B intake, Hepatitis B, distance between home and VCM/PVC plants, BMI measure, parent’s past work in Petrochemical Complex. However, TdGA concentration level is found higher among male schoolchildren and younger schoolchildren.
The findings from this study suggest that school children from all 4 elementary schools in Petrochemical Complex in Mailiao Yunlin are found to have TdGA in urine, and the severity of VCM pollution varies. The TdGA concentration is the highest in Syucuo Elementary School, which is located 0.9 KM away from Petrochemical Complex VCM and PVC plants, and the level is 80 μg/g-creatinine higher than three other elementary schools.
From the long-term view of health risk, children are the group easily hurt, and the exact influence of the high urinary TDGA levels is worthy to be explored further. Before the further investigation on the health damage of TdGA on school children, however, from the health risk management point of view, we cannot wait until the damage is confirmed to act. Before that, government and civil society should aim to reach consensus and make joint efforts to reduce every possible pollution in order to reduce the urinary TDGA levels in school children, From the perspective of public health, in order to reduce the cancer risk of school children in Mailiao, we should take effective means to reduce school children VCM exposure, especially for Syucuo Elementary School. The other suggested measure, as discussed in the colloquium in Legislation Yuan, includes (1) reduce VCM emissions from VCM and PVC plants; (2) relocate the elementary school to somewhere much further away from Petrochemical Complex.
Taking care of the children’s physical and mental health is parents’ primary concern, and protecting the health of those elementary school children is also our major concern. We fully understand that you are worried about the effect of your children and students’ high level of detected TdGA in urine on future health. In order to ensure your children and students’ health, National Health Research Institutes, together with the research teams from National Taiwan University and Kaohsiung Medical University, promise you that we will continue the related epidemiological studies and find out through scientific method the best way to protect schoolchildren’s health, and provide better management of all risk factors that damage the health of schoolchildren.
Regards,
Hung-Che Chiang, National Environmental Health Research Center, National Health Research Institutes
Prof. Chang-Chuan Chan, Institute of Occupational Medicine and Industrial Hygiene, National Taiwan Univeristy
Po-Chin Huang, National Environmental Health Research Center, National Health Research Institutes
Cheng-Hsien Tsai, Department of Pediatrics, National Taiwan University Hospital Yun-Lin Branch
Chu-Wen Wang, Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital