GraceMed Has Raised $340,000 For Health Screenings For Residents Near Chemical Spill Site

GraceMed Health Clinic has raised nearly $340,000 in private donations to pay for health screenings for current and former residents of the 29th and Grove contamination zone in northeast Wichita.

A large $200,000 grant from the Minnesota-based health care organization UCare will enable the community clinic to perform a series of blood and urine tests to assess liver and kidney function and screen for cancer.

The first health survey in the area affected by the 1994 trichlorethylene (TCE) spill at the Union Pacific Railroad site revealed high rates of liver cancer diagnoses among residents.

"Bring documents that show you or your loved ones lived there, but don't worry if you don't have them," GraceMed CEO Venus Lee said at a community meeting Saturday. "Maybe we can end up working on an honor system, but right now we just want to test people."

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, exposure to TCE when a person breathes, swallows, or touches the chemical increases the risk of cancer, especially kidney cancer. The oil spill is believed to have occurred in 1970 and repairs have been ongoing since 2004.

Funds for health exams and treatment related to possible diagnoses are not included in the $14 million final cleanup plan that the Kansas Department of Health and Environmental Protection is asking Union Pacific to pay for.

The state, Sedgwick County and the city of Wichita also did not allocate funds for medical expenses related to cancer diagnoses.

“$14 million. I wanted to know if any of it could be used to test people in the neighborhood, but was told no. It was for the cleanup itself," said James Roseborough, who lives in the affected area. "But for me, testing people, that's the reality." That would be part of the cleanup.

inspection and cleaning

At Saturday's meeting, Union Pacific unveiled its state-approved remediation plan for the 2.9-mile stretch of contaminated groundwater that flows beneath some of Wichita's historically black neighborhoods.

"Over the years, we've collected thousands of soil, groundwater and air samples," said Rebecca Rowley, Union Pacific's senior manager of environmental remediation.

"The surrounding soil is safe, the drinking water you get from the City of Wichita is safe, and the data collected today shows that indoor and outdoor air is safe."

More steam tests are planned for next year, including more air tests at schools and other buildings in the project area. Groundwater testing will continue quarterly in addition to testing at Chisholm Creek.

Two recent tests of the creek water found no TCE, Rowley said, because earlier tests showed lower levels of the contaminant.

Remedial plans provide for the drainage and treatment of groundwater before it is discharged into watercourses or re-introduced into the soil. Five separate one-car garage-sized processing buildings would be built on city lots, with the rest of the infrastructure underground.

Field surveys and engineering projects are yet to be completed before installation of groundwater extraction/injection wells and pipelines begins in 2024 or 2025. After installation, water treatment works are expected to last another 10 years.

Instead of allowing session participants to speak in the room, moderators from Union Pacific, KDHE, and the Kansas Leadership Center asked residents to write their comments or ask questions of staff seated at wide tables at the Boys and Girls Club High School. .

Lavanta Williams, a former Wichita city councilman, called the meeting weak and ineffective.

"It's very important that everyone listens to the same thing at the same time so we all know how we're doing," Williams said.

“People must be heard. That is the point. Let them talk and ask questions."