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Cincinnati Asking Federal Agency To Review District Five Facility

Jay Hanselman
/
WVXU

Cincinnati officials are asking the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to conduct a cancer cluster review at the District 5 police building on Ludlow Avenue.

Council Member Charlie Winburn requested the study Thursday in a memo to the city manager.
The police chief and manager agreed to contact the federal agency.

But the NIOSH results will not be coming anytime soon.

"The length of time an evaluation takes differs for each project," said Stephanie Stevens in an e-mail from NIOSH. "Evaluations of work places for which the health hazards are already well characterized and the solutions for health hazards are well known can be done in the order of months. Evaluations of larger work places, or ones requiring development of new test methods or more complex analyses can take more than a year."

Stevens said the agency could provide interim updates while conducting its review.

Winburn said during 2015 and 2016 there had been six cancer-related deaths and 13 cancer diagnoses of staff under the age of 60, allegedly linked to the facility.

He and the Fraternal Order of Police want the building closed immediately.

The police chief moved people who spend the majority of their day in the facility to another location. Those left are patrol officers and supervisors.

City environmental testing found the District Five facility to be safe.
 

Jay Hanselman brings more than 10 years experience as a news anchor and reporter to 91.7 WVXU. He came to WVXU from WNKU, where he hosted the local broadcast of All Things Considered. Hanselman has been recognized for his reporting by the Kentucky AP Broadcasters Association, the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists, and the Ohio AP Broadcasters.