Dioxin levels high in eggs near Atsugi, Japan study shows

[John Visher <visherjc@crisscross.com>]

http://www.pstripes.com/edsa.html
              Saturday, December 4, 1999

              Dioxin levels high in eggs near Atsugi, study shows

              By Richard Roesler
              Stripes Tokyo Bureau Chief

              TOKYO - Eggs from a chicken farm near the
              Enviro-Tech incinerator show considerably higher dioxin
              levels than average American eggs, according to a study
              done for nearby Atsugi Naval Air Facility.

              The American firm that did the testing, Earth Tech,
              concluded that routinely eating such eggs could boost
              dioxin exposure fourfold, compared to eating American
              eggs.

              What does that mean to the health of people who eat
              off-base foods? There's no way to say, according to a
              Navy official in Japan who spoke on condition of
              anonymity. The reason:

              Although dioxin is known to cause cancer, he said there
              is little data correlating specific levels of the chemical
to
              specific levels of increased cancer risk.

              "People need to be aware that this is a potential source
of
              higher levels of dioxin in their diet," the official said.
"The
              food in the commissary and the clubs has all been tested.
              That food source is all 100 percent no problem."

              But many base residents shop for vegetables and
              Japanese foods at off-base grocery stores, and the Navy
              official said the survey shouldn't be interpreted as a
              warning to stop such purchases. The testing covered eggs
              and pork produced within about a half-mile of the
              incinerator, and the pork showed too little dioxin to
              measure accurately.

              The eggs, however, had markedly higher dioxin levels
              than their U.S. counterparts. An average American egg
              contains .23 picograms (a trillionth of a gram) of the
toxic
              compound. The roughly 60 eggs sampled near the
              incinerator averaged 36 times higher: 8.3 picograms.

              How does that high level translate into only a fourfold
              increased risk of exposure? Because much of ingested
              dioxin is excreted, instead of being retained in the body,

              the Navy official said.

              Dioxin, released when plastics and other compounds are
              burned at too-low temperatures, is found worldwide.

              The Enviro-Tech incinerator, formerly Jinkampo, has for
              years been a thorn in the side of base residents, who are
              downwind from the pollutant-belching smokestack. The
              base has been sampling air and soil around the site since
              the mid-'90s, and the studies have consistently affirmed
              that the incinerator is pumping out far more dioxin than
              Japan's environmental regulations allow.

              The incinerator's former chairman has been jailed for
              alleged tax evasion, but the incinerator continues to
burn.

              U.S. Ambassador to Japan Tom Foley and top U.S.
              defense officials, including Defense Secretary William
              Cohen and, recently, his deputy John Hamre, have urged
              Japan to rein in the rogue polluter. Japan has reportedly
              pledged to improve filters and raise the plant's
              smokestacks.

              The Navy official said there were no specific incidents or

              findings that prompted the $10,000 food study.

              A yearlong health risk assessment concerning the
              incinerator is due out this spring. It covers everything
              from children's respiratory functions to people's eating
              habits.

              The preliminary results, the Navy official said, reaffirm
the
              results of an initial 1995 dioxin study at the base. That
              study concluded that the plant was likely to lead to
              short-term health effects - mostly sore throats and
              irritated eyes.

              As far as long-term risks, the 1995 study's findings were
              more complex. In any population of American men,
              cancer statistics suggest that about half will contract -
but
              not necessarily die from - cancer during their lives. For
              women, it's about a third.

              For people stationed at Atsugi for six years, the risk
rises
              by one cancer case out of 10,000 people, according to
              the study. In other words, if 5,000 out of 10,000 men
              would normally get cancer, being at Atsugi for six years
              would raise that percentage slightly, to 5,001.

              To counteract the risk, the base has installed air filters
in
              homes and schools. Workers wash school playground
              equipment frequently, and schoolchildren don't go outside
              for recess on days when the base monitors say the dioxin
              level is unusually high. The study due out this spring
              reaffirms those measures, the Navy official said, and says

              no additional measures are needed.