Cancer

Missouri’s health department has announced findings of a lengthy examination of the troubled Bridgeton Landfill in suburban St. Louis, determining that the odor emitting from the landfill created some health concerns but did not increase the risk of cancer. The landfill has been a source of concern for years. Uranium refined in St. Louis as part of the Manhattan Project was illegally dumped at the adjacent West Lake Landfill in 1973. Meanwhile, a smolder was discovered underground in 2010 at Bridgeton Landfill, just a few hundred yards away. The cause remains unknown, but the resulting odor was so pungent that many nearby residents complained of illness and were often forced to stay inside.

The Environmental Protection Agency is warning residents who live near medical sterilizing plants in 13 states and Puerto Rico about potential health risks from emissions of ethylene oxide, a chemical widely used in their operations. The EPA says 23 communities, including Laredo, Texas; Ardmore, Oklahoma; and Lakewood Colorado, are at highest risk from ethylene oxide emissions. The EPA warning follows a recent survey of emissions data from almost 100 commercial sterilizers nationwide. Ethylene oxide is used to clean everything from catheters to syringes, pacemakers and plastic surgical gowns. A proposed rule to update control of air toxic emissions from commercial sterilizers is expected by the end of the year.

Houston Texans rookie receiver John Metchie III, who announced Sunday that he’d likely miss the season after being diagnosed with leukemia, addressed the team in a video before it started preparations for the season. Coach Lovie Smith says he normally opens camp with a speech to the team. But this year he thought it was more important for the guys to hear from Metchie first. Smith didn’t provide specifics about what the second-round pick from Alabama shared with the team but said that teammates and coaches alike were moved by his words.

There are currently no effective tests to screen for ovarian cancer. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to recognize and prevent it.

April is National Donate Life Month. Check out some of the past week's health news.