Brio Superfund Site - Impact On The Southbend Neighborhood

Impact On The Southbend Neighborhood

Although groundwater was contaminated, as noted above, community wells in the adjoining South Bend neighborhood were not contaminated. Pulte Homes, which build much of the Southbend community, claimed it was unaware of the problem until 1983, which was after it had built many of the homes, although it has been reported that construction workers complained of health problems while the initial homes were being built. Not long after, residents began reporting health problems. Women in the area had reported an above average rate of miscarriages and there was an increase in upper respiratory ailments, central nervous system disorders, and birth defects (particularly reproductive and heart problems). Some of the residents moved out, fearing for their health and for that of their children. Former residents have since reported various illnesses which include cancer, vasculitis, and autoimmune disease.

To address these health concerns, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) conducted a cross-sectional health outcomes study to compare current residents of the Southbend subdivision with residents of a comparison group. In addition, a separate study of adverse reproductive outcomes of both current and former Southbend residents was initiated. Because of limited participation and the small number of birth defects verified by medical records, analysis of this phase of the study would not have been scientifically valid and the study was terminated.

A report titled Southbend Subdivision Health Outcomes Study was issue in August 1995 by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), part of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The report delivered three conclusions: "1) Although findings suggest that Southbend participants were less healthy than participants from the comparison area, design limitations and potential biases must be considered. Intense media coverage, litigation, and migration from the Southbend area could have affected the results of this study. None of these associations should be interpreted to imply causality. 2) Population distributions of various biomarker levels analyzed in this study were significantly different between the two populations. The clinical significance of these findings is unknown. 3) The clinical significance and public health implications of isolated findings were difficult to interpret and might have been due to bias or to chance. However, the multiple symptoms reported in excess for the respiratory system are a cause of concern."

In 1992, the Brio Superfund site was the subject of a $207 million USD court settlement, which was at the time the largest out-of-court settlement for a toxic waste case.