Cole and Associates awarded CDC Contract to Establish Community Action Committee in cancer cluster community

Cole and Associates have garnered a two-year contract to establish and operate a community advisory committee (CAC) in the Tamaqua, PA where a cluster for a rare blood cancer (Polycythemia Vera) has been confirmed by CDC. The purposes of the CAC are to:

• Establish clear lines of communications between members of the community and the government agencies and the researchers conducting additional studies.
• Ensure that government responds to community questions and concerns
• Provide an effective avenue for citizen input into decisions being made on research and support for patients, their families and their health care providers. 

For a description of the CAC project and the problems in the Tamaqua area see: 

Hometown Hazards

The NEPCO fluidized bed unit north of Tamaqua and west of Hazelton uses the coal wastes left over from former anthracite mining. The combustion provides large volumes of fly ash with arsenic and other toxic metals.  The plant is one six coal waste burners in the area. There are also six Superfund Sites in area where the cancer cluster was discovered. 


For a complete report on the cancer cluster -- Polycythemia Vera (a rare blood cancer), see the following link. Henry S. Cole is a co-author. 
"A Multidisciplinary Investigation of a Polycythemia Vera Cancer Cluster of Unknown Origin"