PSYCHOSOCIAL EFFECTS OF PCB CONTAMINATION AND REMEDIATION - THE CASE OF SMITHVILLE, ONTARIO

A cross-sectional study design was used to investigate psychosocial ef fects in the population exposed to PCB contamination and remediation i n Smithville, Ontario, Canada. Psychosocial effects were defined as th e complex of distress, dysfunction and disability manifested in a wide range of psychological, social and behavioural outcomes as a conseque nce of actual or perceived contamination. This paper describes the res ults of logistic regression analyses conducted to investigate the dete rminants of psychosocial effects of exposure. The data come from an ep idemiologic survey of a sample (N = 272) of Smithville households with in 3 km of the site, and a sample from a matched comparison community (N = 263). Two types of outcome variables were used as indicators of p sychosocial effects. Scores on the general measures of psychosocial he alth and well-being (the GHQ-20 and the somatic complaints checklist o f the SCL-90) for the Smithville sample did not differ from those expe cted in a 'normal' population, nor did they differ from those in the c omparison community. Scores on these outcomes were associated with pla usibly linked independent variables, but were not associated with expo sure to the PCB site. Results for site-specific outcome measures (conc ern and health concern) showed that moderate levels of concern reporte d by Smithville respondents were explained by concern about another lo cal hazardous waste issue and could not be explained by PCB site expos ure. We conclude from these results that local community context exert s an important influence on psychosocial effects of environmental cont amination. Furthermore, the types of outcome measures employed and the timing of the research in the context of the site history were import ant factors in our ability to detect psychosocial effects of the PCB c ontamination and remediation in Smithville.