Studying relative risks

Editor, The News:

The dioxin story is not one to easily reconcile with the extreme points of view already in place. ("Study critics seek results," Nov. 9)

For the members of the Lone Tree Council, as well as the litigants against Dow Chemical Co., nothing less than a Herculean remediation will satisfy -- this in spite of the concerns among many stakeholders that similar efforts in Times Beach, Mo., and Seveso, Italy, and elsewhere have been done at great expense and little benefit. That Dow is engaged in a wearisome and complicated exercise in "overstudy" of the problem is a legitimate observation.

At the same time, it is understandable why such an "overstudy" is necessary in the first place. The work done by Ann Arbor Technical Services Inc. is very valuable to our understanding of the sediment characterization along the Tittabawassee River.

My support of and appreciation for the efforts of the University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study Team is large. Their work, already recognized by the world scientific community, adds immensely to our understanding of the local dioxin burden of Saginaw and Midland county citizens exposed to dioxins along the Tittabawassee River.

In some remote and distant future, we may all see more clearly what today still remains uncertain, relative to the health risks of dioxin exposure in our communities.

In the meantime, it is more than likely that the risks of environmental tobacco smoke and lead, as pointed out by litigant Kathy Henry, far outweigh any risk associated with local dioxin exposures.

Neill D. Varner

medical director,

Saginaw County Department of Public Health

Saginaw