The Lewis Engineering and Scientists Association are asking several members of Congress to look into cancer rates in the Developmental Engineering Building and NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio (NASA Lewis was changed to NASA Glenn in 1999 and sits at Lewis Field in Cleveland).

Any good scientist would hate that title. Why? Because it's designed to lead you to conclude something – like there is a link between cancer and NASA or that 40 engineers on the same floor being diagnosed with cancer means something. So what are the facts?

The facts are:

-According to a union spokesperson, Dennis Pehotski, 40 out of 100 engineers on the 3rd floor of that building have been diagnosed with cancer in the past three to four years.

-The Union is concerned about conditions in the building.

- According to reports unveiled to workers last month from the Ohio Department of Health and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, cancer rates at NASA Glenn are within the normal range.

-The union is worried about possible mold and asbestos in the ceiling, a dirty air filter and other building problems.

-The NASA Glenn safety director, said they would clean the filter more often, that tests showed safe conditions and that they would answer any questions that come to them. The building is scheduled to be razed (demolished) in 2010.

-The group has contacted Congressman Kucinich's office and his spokesperson has said they would investigate the matter with Glenn officials.

-The building was constructed in 1965.

-(The other implication is that it has something to do with being a NASA engineer- but nothing in the article supports that.)

And of course the most scientifically meaningless of all facts, the anecdotal one: I have never worked on a floor where 40 people had been diagnosed with cancer in the past three to four years. (Note, my quick internet search did not give me an easy number for what a "normal" cancer rate "should" be. If you have a credible reference please pass along.)

NASA Glenn Union Wants Answers on Workers' Cancer Rate [Cleveland.com]

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Photo Courtesy NASA