Clues In Nevada Leukemia Cluster?

A federal study of a childhood leukemia cluster in this northern Nevada town found high levels of tungsten and arsenic in most residents - but nothing to indicate that either caused any cancers.

Based on the results, however, the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has asked the National Institutes of Health to research possible links between tungsten and cancer, scientists said Thursday.

"We've learned a lot. But we haven't found the cause of this leukemia cluster," said Dr. Carol Rubin, head of the CDC's research team.

Rubin released the study results Thursday at a community meeting attended by about 300 people. Preliminary results, which echoed those announced Thursday, had been released in August.

Since 1997, the leukemia in Fallon - a farming community of 8,300 and home of the "Top Gun" Navy fighter pilot training base - has sickened 13 children and killed three others.

Arsenic occurs naturally in the Fallon area, about 60 miles southeast of Reno. Tungsten, used to strengthen steel, was mined for years, although the mines have been shut down.

The CDC announced in August that the heavy metal was found in unexpectedly high levels in eight out of 10 Fallon residents tested. Nationally, one in 10 Americans has comparatively high levels.

Two upcoming federal studies will compare contaminant levels in Fallon with two other Nevada towns - Lovelock and Pahrump - and compare DNA from sickened families to that of other Fallon residents.

Over the past year and a half, the CDC has tested dust, dirt, water and 250 people in the Fallon area.

By Ryan Pearson