%0 PDF %T Standardized Incidence Ratios of PCB-Related Cancers Associated with Multiple PCB Point Sources in New Bedford, MA %A Sellitto, Michael. %8 2017-04-19 %R http://localhost/files/086130765 %X Abstract: From 1941 through 1978, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were released in New Bedford, MA. Electronic manufacturers and waste sites were sources of PCBs, an environmentally persistent compound associated with increased risk of some cancers. Although there has been some remediation, PCBs are still detectable. Using 829 soil and sediment samples, a mean proxy PCB concentration for each New Bedford census tract was calculated. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) of five cancer types were calculated for each census tract using Massachusetts Cancer Registry data. The association between mean proxy PCB concentrations and SIRs was tested using mixed linear regression models. No statistically significant association was observed. Although SIRs are a robust measure of cancer incidence, this method of approximating PCB exposure was likely inaccurate; census tracts are arbitrary boundaries and do not account for behavioral factors of the population that influence exposure. Ideally, biometric data should be used to estimate PCB exposure.; Thesis (M.S.)--Tufts University, 2016.; Submitted to the Dept. of Civil Engineering.; Advisor: Anne Marie Desmarais.; Committee: Kenneth Chui, and Carolyn Talmadge.; Keywords: Environmental engineering, Epidemiology, and Geographic information science and geodesy. %[ 2022-10-12 %9 Text %~ Tufts Digital Library %W Institution