2008–2012 Investigation
The Oregon Public Health Division (PHD) was alerted to a public health concern in West Salem by the local community. Between 2008 and 2012, West Salem had more cases of osteosarcoma than expected. PHD completed an early review and found there was not enough information to show that these cases were caused by any single source.
EPA Assessment
Because community members were still worried, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) carried out an environmental assessment of the West Salem area in April 2013. The goal was to look for any environmental problems that might increase cancer risk and require cleanup. The EPA found that the contaminants measured in local samples were far below levels considered unsafe by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
Based on these findings, PHD found no evidence that during that time osteosarcoma cases among young people in West Salem were connected to the contaminants found in the samples. There was also no scientific evidence showing that the contaminants were known to cause osteosarcoma. However, PHD continues to track the number of new cases each year to see whether West Salem has any future periods with more osteosarcoma cases than expected.