Cancer incidence in the Love Canal area.

Data from the New York Cancer Registry show no evidence for higher cancer rates associated with residence near the Love Canal toxic waste burial site in comparison with the entire state outside of New York City. Rates of liver cancer, lymphoma, and leukemia, which were selected for special attention, were not consistently elevated. Among the other cancers studied, a higher rate was noted only for respiratory cancer, but it was not consistent across age groups and appeared to be related to a high rate for the entire city of Niagara Falls. There was no evidence that the lung cancer rate was associated with the toxic wastes buried at the dump site.

Preventing tap water burns.

Based on a 1974-1975 survey of hospital records in upstate New York, we estimate that 347 tap water burns will require inpatient treatment annually, with children and the elderly at increased risk. The number and severity of burns from tap water makes them an important prevention priority. Reducing the temperature of household hot water supplies could be a practical and effective prevention measure.

A systems model for burn care.

The problem of projecting the number of tertiary service beds needed by a population is materially different for rare events than for medical events of more common occurrence. Demand for inpatient burn treatment services has been carefully measured in 57 countries in New York State. A survey provided data describing the rate of ocurrence, severity, and average length of stay for 5,791 hospitalized burn patients. Existing planning formulae which were designed for events of common occurrence were found to project conditions of overflow and underutilization incompletely when applied to regional burn units. Objective planning models designed specifically for intensive burn care were therefore developed. These models show that there is no number of intensive care burn beds which will provide both reasonably high occupancy and reasonable assurance of meeting the normally erratic demand of a small system. Conditions of overload and underutilization are inevitable and therefore planning efforts should be directed at minimizing these impacts. If all of the regional burn treatment facilities are regarded as components of a well-integrated statewide system, a much more effective efficient and economic service will result.

The epidemiology of burn injury in New York.

A population-based study of all patients hospitalized for burns in a 2-year period was conducted in up-state New York. The objective was to provide data for setting burn injury prevention priorities and for formulating treatment facility plans. The incidence rate of hospitalization for burns was 27 per 100,000 population per year. The mean estimated size of the burn wounds was 9 percent of the body surface, and fewer than 10 percent of the patients had large wounds (more than 20 percent of the body). Burn patients were admitted to hospitals of all capabilities, including 89 percent of 223 hospitals. Substantial numbers of patients with large and deep wounds were treated in hospitals with little burn treatment experience. High-risk groups were the young, blacks, and males. Burn injuries occurring at work were common. Burn injuries resulting in hospitalization occurred less frequently, and the wounds were smaller in size than would have been expected based on reports in the literature.