D. B. Gerstle, MS, MA, JD¹, A. M. Levine, Ph D¹, Robert Christopher Silich, MD², Karen S. Schwartz, MD³, Alan Benimoff, PhD⁴, Michael Kress, PhD⁴, Michelle Gerstle Dresser, MPH, CHES⁵, Ann Lubrano, PhD⁶, Valerie Lubrano⁴, and Andrea Makrinos, BA⁷. (1) Center for Environmental Science, College of Staten Island/CUNY/Center for Environmental Science, 2800 Victory Blvd., Room 310 Bldg 6S, Staten Island, NY 10314, 718-982-3922, gerstle@mail.csi.cuny.edu, (2) Surgery/Division of Plastic Surgery, Cornell University Medical School/NY Hospital, 525 East 68th Street, New York, NY 10021, (3) Endocrinology, North Shore University Hospital, 300 Community Drive, Manhasset, NY 11030, (4) Center for Environmental Science, College of Staten Island/CUNY, 2800 Victory Blvd., Room 310 Bldg 6S, Staten Island, NY 10314, (5) Department of Marketing, Community Relations & Health Education, Lenox Hill Hospital, 100 East 77th Street, New York, NY 10021, (6) Othmer Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies, Polytechnic University, 5 Metrotech Center, Brooklyn, NY 11201, (7) Center for Environmental Science, College of Staten Island, 1600 Victory Blvd., Staten Island, NY 10314

Staten Island, NY is downwind from the largest petrochemical industry in the world, home to the Fresh Kills landfill and six EPA Superfund sites. Using data obtained from the New York City Department of Health and the New York State Cancer Registry, it has been determined that Staten Island has the highest age-adjusted breast cancer rates among women in the metropolitan region. The Staten Island Breast Cancer Project is an ongoing investigation that examines the association between breast cancer, length of residence on Staten Island, occupation, and proximity to Superfund sites. Researchers at the Center for Environmental Science developed and validated a methodology for obtaining data from the combination of newspaper obituaries and death certificates. Death Certificate data for the years 1980 through 1990 for female breast cancer (ICD 174), as well as, for a set of controls (non-malignant neoplasms) were obtained from the New York City Department of Health. Life histories were compiled through obituaries for both cases (n=395) and controls (n=4,328) and mapped using GIS (Geographic Information System). The data set includes demographic information, residential history, occupational history and Superfund sites. Analysis using logistic regression has demonstrated that a statistically significant increased risk of breast cancer mortality is associated with length of residence on Staten Island and residence within one mile of an EPA Superfund site(OR=1.39, p<.01).

Learning Objectives:

• At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to identify female populations at risk for breast cancer due to environmental perturbations.

Keywords: Breast Cancer, Environmental Justice

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.