ATSDR MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT

Federal Agency to Discuss Polycythemia Vera Survey Findings
at Public Meeting October 24

Note to correspondents: ATSDR staff will be available for a press availability session to discuss the results of the survey from 6:00 until 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, October 24 at Genetti’s Best Western, located at 1441 N. Church St. in Hazelton.  No appointment is needed.

For Immediate Release: October 17, 2007

ATLANTA - The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) will hold a public meeting to discuss the findings of a recently conducted survey on the polycythemia vera (PV) cases in Schuykill, Luzerne, and Carbon counties.

The meeting will be held Wednesday, October 24 from 7:00 until 9:00 p.m. at Genetti’s Best Western, located at 1441 N. Church St. in Hazelton.

In addition to ATSDR, representatives from the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PADOH), along with a national expert on PV and local doctors, will take part in the meeting.

PV is a cancer of the bone marrow. In August 2006, PADOH asked ATSDR to help determine the number of PV cases in the tri-county area and their geographic distribution, to better describe these cases, and to look for possible factors in common among them.

Community members who have questions about the upcoming meeting may contact ATSDR staff Steve Dearwent at 404-498-0488 or Lora Werner at 215-814-3141. 

ATSDR, a federal public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, evaluates the human health effects of exposure to hazardous substances.

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Members of the news media can request an interview with ATSDR staff by calling the NCEH/ATSDR Office of Communication at 770-488-0700. Results of the survey will be shared at the October 24 press availability session and community meeting.