Romak and her neighbors want assurance that the waste won't kill someone. Now, an array of state and federal environmental regulators are puzzling over how dangerous the pumping might be to public health in Romulus and nearby Taylor. Addressing such questions is at the center of the Environmental Protection Agency's mission. Health concerns are the trigger for nearly every EPA regulation and they are the strongest source of public support for the agency. But interviews with researchers, environmentalists and current and former government officials, produced little direct evidence that the EPA's efforts been effective in dealing with majority of health problems the agency has targeted.
Cancer rates are up slightly.
Asthma rates have skyrocketed. Low birth weight and preterm births have climbed steadily. Chronic lung problems are the nation's number four killer, leaving 100,000 dead every year, twice the number in 1980. Alone among the success stories are reduced incidence of heart attacks, which may be partially related to the ban on lead in gasoline. Either the EPA has not done a good job at reducing pollution and environmental contamination or the EPA is regulating substances that are not major causes of health problems.