Fallon water samples drawn in wake of leukemia cases

Tuesday, March 6, 2001 | 11:01 a.m.

Nevada health and environmental experts began collecting samples from a dozen private wells on Monday to measure about 80 potential contaminants that might hold the missing link among 12 cases of childhood leukemia in Fallon.

State epidemiologist Dr. Randall Todd confirmed the 12th case of acute lymphocytic leukemia in a 19-year-old man on Friday. The man was born in Fallon but moved to nearby Eureka County.

While Fallon's municipal water supply has been tested for the 80 contaminants, not all of the leukemia patients drank from the city's source, LuAnn Rich, a spokeswoman for the Health Division, said.

Half of the children drank well water and half from the city's treatment plant.

Todd and Alan Tinney, bureau chief of the state Health Protection Services, have formed a team of scientists to gather the samples.

Two qualified engineers and a health specialist will spend up to three hours and $3,000 apiece to draw water from each well, Galen Denio, manager of the state's public health engineering section, said.

"We are going to run all of the tests for each contaminant on each well," Denio said.

It could take from four to six weeks to complete the collection and analysis of the private wells, Tinney said.

The samples will initially be analyzed in the state's laboratory in Carson City. Special tests for rare chemicals or for radiation will be sent to special labs.

While no common chemical has been discovered in any water supply, the state needs to test the private wells to compare them with the municipal water, Denio said.

The Safe Drinking Water Act requires municipal water suppliers to test for a wide range of possible toxic materials, including chemicals, metals and potential cancer-causing substances.