The results of a health survey carried out in the summer of 1996 did not identify a public health problem among the residents of Mason Road in Stratford.
On July 12, 1996, the PEI Department of Health and Social Services received a letter from a representative of residents of Mason Road in Stratford. The letter expressed concern regarding possible health effects of pesticide spraying of a field bordering on the Road. Health symptoms had been noted at a press conference in the backyard of one of the residents on June 17, 1996, six days after an adjacent potato field had been sprayed. Concern was also expressed about various health problems which residents had experienced previous to this event.
In response, it was decided to use international guidelines for investigating these concerns. It was known, before starting this survey, that a study such as this: 1) cannot prove the cause for health symptoms; 2) does not measure actual exposure of residents to pesticides; and 3) will not identify a few residents who might have allergies or chemical sensitivities related to pesticides. However, this study was intended to determine whether a public health problem existed.
PEI Health Services staff carried out a health survey between July 29 and August 7, 1996, of Mason Road residents living adjacent to the potato field. The survey focused on the two-week period following spraying of the field on June 11 and on all health problems experienced by residents before this event. Questionnaires were completed for 137 residents in 93% of the eligible households. All results, with names removed, were sent to the Bureau of Surveillance and Field Epidemiology, Health Canada, for review and analysis.
Half of the residents reported one or more symptoms over the two-week survey period in June while the other half reported no symptoms. Residents tended to describe a variety, rather than any one particular symptom or group of symptoms. Among those with symptoms, there were no characteristics that could be biologically linked to pesticide spraying. Residents with symptoms were mostly clustered at one end of the Road and not spread evenly along the entire street.
In addition, residents were asked to report all health problems experienced at any time in the past. No health problems such as asthma, cancer or miscarriage were reported by enough residents to allow for a meaningful analysis.
The analysis addressed deficits in this particular study, including the lack of a similar control (or comparison group) and the use of four methods, rather than one, for completing the survey questionnaire. However, the design of this study was considered necessary in order to carry out the survey as effectively and as timely as possible.
The conclusions of this survey are as follows:
1) The results of this survey show that reported health symptoms during the two-week study period in June 1996 tended to be clustered in households at one end of Mason Road. Reported symptoms were not evenly spread along all of the Road as would be expected if pesticide spraying was responsible for an increase in the rate of health symptoms in the study area.
2) During the two-week study period, no particular health symptom, or group of symptoms, could be statistically associated with any measure of exposure to pesticides.
3) When questioned about illnesses experienced at any time in the past, residents reported no health problem such as asthma, cancer or miscarriage occurring at a rate significantly higher than that in the general population.
4) The findings of this study do not point to a public health problem among the residents of Mason Road in Stratford.
The PEI Department of Health and Social Services expresses thanks to the consultants from the Bureau of Surveillance and Field Epidemiology, Health Canada, who analysed the data and provided the report.
The PEI Department of Health and Social Services also thank all residents of Mason Road who agreed to take part in this survey. Each household involved in the study has received the final report. A copy of the report is available at Island Information Service, 368-4000.
For more information, contact Dr. Lamont Sweet, Chief Health Officer, Department of Health and Social Services, (902) 368-4996.