Records of Silent Spring Institute, 1970-2011

The records of the Silent Spring Institute reflect the Institute's work, research methods, and subsequent findings related to the Cape Cod Breast Cancer and Environment Study and the Newton Breast Cancer Study. The processor rearranged or combined related folder contents, maintained most original folder titles, and provided the overall arrangement; folder titles in brackets were created by the processor. Electronic records were received on 43 3.5 inch disks, 7 CDs, and 1 5.25 inch diskette. Files on 1 data cartridge were unrecoverable. Disks were imaged using FTK Imager and Duke Data Accessioner. Material received in 2013 (accession number 2013-M210) was added to the collection in September 2016 and is housed in #69.1-87.5. All other files remain in the same order. Folders are listed in intellectual, not numerical, order. There is some overlap between this and the previous accession.

Series I, CAPE COD BREAST CANCER AND ENVIRONMENT STUDY, PHASE I AND II, 1970-2011 (#1.1-63.8, 69.1-87.5, F+D.1-F+D.6, OD.1, SD.1, PD.1sl, T-454.1 - T-454.23, Vt-233.1 - Vt-233.5, 40.6m, E.1-E.6), contains completed applications; budgets; conference and workshop material; contracts and agreements; correspondence; draft letters, minutes, reports, etc.; fundraising material; recorded interviews and transcriptions of interview summaries; mailing lists; maps; meeting minutes; planning and research notes; presentation files; press releases and publicity material; program and project files; proposals; reports and publications; research files and annotated resource material; statistical and journal logs; survey questionnaires; air and water test sample results; work plans and schedules; announcements, flyers, and pamphlets; audiotapes; videotapes; photographs; slides; oversize material; memorabilia; clippings; the Institute's web site; etc. The series is divided into five subseries.

Subseries A, Administrative and related, 1993-2011 (#1.1-7.3, 69.1-71.6, E.1), contains records relating to the Institute's overall work on phase I and II of the Cape Cod Breast Cancer and Environment study, which includes applications for access to confidential records of the Massachusetts Cancer Registry, the National Death Index, and related; board minutes, correspondence, and reports; contracts and agreements with universities, test laboratories, and other related professionals to head research projects, conduct interviews, and collect and analyze air and water test samples; correspondence from the general public; grant and contractor proposals for research projects; publicity material (i.e., news releases, press packets, announcements and flyers, clippings, etc.); administrative annual, quarterly, and financial reports submitted to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health; survey questionnaires; project work plans, schedules, and budgets; etc. Correspondence includes letters of inquiry, personal accounts, and editorial comments related to issues of breast cancer on Cape Cod primarily from local residents. Also included in the correspondence are Institute response letters to general public inquiries and some general administrative letters and memos. Originals of redacted items in folders #69.2 [board] and #69.4 [correspondence] are closed for 90 years from the date of creation. The subseries is arranged alphabetically by record type, and thereunder chronologically. The Silent Spring Institute web site, which includes photographs and other writing, is being captured periodically as part of Harvard University Library's Web Archive Collection (WAX).

Subseries B, Committees, projects, activities, etc., 1981-2006, n.d. (#7.4-26.10, 71.7-78.8, PD.1sl, T-454.1 - T-454.23, Vt-233.1 - Vt-233.5. E.2-E.4), contains records specific to the Institute's individual committees, projects, activities, etc., such as its breast cancer focus groups; monthly investigators' meetings; public advisory committee; science advisory committee; the tracing committee; peer review groups of Massachusetts' departments of environmental protection and public health; E-screen [estrogenicity screen], ethnicity, and field sampling projects; fundraising initiatives; and public outreach programs. The subseries includes administrative correspondence; budgets and invoices; conference and workshop material; drafts of projects plans, reports, official letters, etc.; fundraising events; recorded interviews and summary transcriptions with Cape Cod residents (including members of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe and Cape Verdean communities) and health and environment professionals regarding breast cancer and environmental factors on Cape Cod; mailing lists; meeting minutes and notes; planning and research notes; presentation files; publicity material; committee reports; research data; testimonies; work plans and schedules; photographic and audiovisual material; etc. Conference and workshop materials primarily contain abstract proposals, professional papers, and PowerPoint presentations of Institute staff members who were invited as speakers; topics include breast cancer risk factors, endocrine disruptors in the environment, pesticide use on Cape Cod, estrogen related cancers in women, evaluating the effectiveness of E-screen [estrogenicity screen], investigating GIS [geographic information systems], effects of phenols in water supplies, results from the field sampling project, overviews of the Cape Cod Breast Cancer and Environment Study, etc. Massachusetts Military Reservation [plume program] records address issues regarding groundwater contamination sites and cleanup programs on the property. Presentations by topic contain a cache of annotated PowerPoint presentations arranged alphabetically by topic such as air modeling of pesticide drift, breast cancer risk factors, cranberry bogs, enhanced surveillance, groundwater basins, household exposure study, land use, pesticides, residential sampling plan, etc. Tracing committee records relate to the Institute's creation of databases and its web site. The audiovisual material includes audiotapes of interviews and meetings from the breast cancer focus groups, ethnicity project interviews, and a 2002 meeting of the public advisory committee; videotapes of the Institute's 2001 and 2006 annual dinners and meetings from the breast cancer focus groups; slides from the 2002 presentation files of the scientific advisory committee; and related photographs. Contracts and survey questionnaires found throughout the subseries were incorporated into Subseries A. Project reports intended for publication, journal articles, and other Institute publications were incorporated into Subseries C. Oversize material was incorporated into Subseries E. Originals of redacted items in folder #73.7 are closed for 70 years from the date of creation. The subseries is arranged alphabetically by name of committee or activity, and thereunder chronologically.

Subseries C, Project reports, publications, and related, 1991-2002, n.d. (#27.1-38.14, 78.9-79.9), includes project and research reports intended for publication from phase I and II of the Cape Cod Breast Cancer and Environment Study, submitted to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health; article submissions to professional journals; other Institute publications; and a few papers presented at conferences, committee meetings, and other professional and public forums. Topics include descriptive epidemiology; endocrine disruptors; estrogenic phenolic compounds; exposure to alkylphenols, pesticides, phthalates, electromagnetic fields, etc.; factors for ductal carcinoma in situ; method validation of nonylphenol ethoxylates; trace phenols; using gas chromatograph/mass spectrometry and geographic information systems; wastewater and land use on Cape Cod; etc. Drafts and revisions are also included in the subseries. Related material (i.e., correspondence, clippings, flyers, notes, etc.) found with the reports, articles, and publications were maintained with the corresponding work. Additional reports/publications found in Subseries B and Subseries D were incorporated into Subseries C. Oversize material was incorporated into Subseries E. The subseries is arranged chronologically, and thereunder alphabetically by title.

Subseries D, Research files, data collection, and test results, 1985-2006, n.d. (#38.15-63.8, 80.1-87.5, 40.6m, E.5 - E.6), contains research notes, planning material, and related correspondence; field test results of air and water samples on Cape Cod; collected and annotated resource material relating to Cape Cod on such topics as chemical use and pesticides, drinking and waste water systems, electromagnetic fields, radon causing sources, food supply, population migration, etc.; annotated census records, other statistical data, and area maps; excerpts from professional journals; official government reports and interviews; compiled bibliographies; contact lists; data logs; etc. Also included in the subseries is general information on breast cancer research from the 1990s and 2000s; study results and project reports from the National Breast Cancer Coalition, the Long Island Breast Cancer Study Project, and related breast cancer initiatives (including materials from Boston University's 1980s Upper Cape Cod Breast Cancer Study); environmental issues surrounding the Massachusetts Military Reserve on Cape Cod; developing and using geographic information systems in relation to Cape Cod; and a bumper sticker (#39.3) and button (#40.6m) from the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition. Test sample results contain analyzed results of water samples taken by the Institute from private and public water sources and air and dust samples taken from private homes on Cape Cod. The test result files consists of annotated statistical data and charts highlighting various chemical contents found in the samples. Contracts and survey questionnaires found throughout the subseries were incorporated into Subseries A. Project reports intended for publication, journal articles, and other Institute publications were incorporated into Subseries C. Oversize material was incorporated into Subseries E. Folders #82.6 and 83.1 are closed for 70 years from the date of creation. The subseries is arranged alphabetically by topic, and thereunder chronologically.

Subseries E, Oversize maps, plans, and related, 1970-1999, n.d. (#F+D.1-F+D.6, OD.1, SD.1), serves as the shelflist for oversized items removed from preceding series and grouped as listed. Included are charts, maps, and plans. This subseries also contains unfoldered items, including census maps, used in the final report of the Cape Cod Breast and Environment Study (#F+D. 4), posters (#F.D.5) and maps of groundwater contamination and sewage plume wells in Upper Cape Cod (SD.1).

Series II, NEWTON BREAST CANCER STUDY, 1996-2001, n.d. (#63.9-68.6), contains the Institute's work on the Newton Breast Cancer Study, which focuses on high and low incidence areas of breast cancer rates in Newton, Massachusetts. Material includes a completed application for conducting medical and scientific data research; background information on the study itself (i.e., fact sheets, research notes, clippings, etc.); correspondence; meeting minutes from the Newton investigators' meetings; publicity and press conference materials; presentation files; grant proposals; reports; research files; a survey questionnaire from the study; the Institute's statistical logs; and related. Correspondence includes administrative letters and memos, a few letters from the general public concerning the Institute's work on breast cancer, and a collection of 2001 letters sent to Congressional members requesting funding for the Institute. Presentation files contain PowerPoint material used in conjunction with an undated Earth Day presentation and few pages on breast cancer prevention and cancer causing chemicals. Reports include the 1996 Massachusetts Department of Public Health study on incidences of breast cancer in Newton from 1982 to 1992; several drafts and two final reports on the Institute's Newton study submitted to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health; and other related reports. Research files contain notes, related correspondence, and annotated resource material relating to Newton on such topics as radio frequency exposure, hazardous waste sites, geographical information systems, land use, etc. Statistical logs contain statistical data collected on the relationship between socioeconomic factors and exposure to environmental endocrine disruptors in Newton. The series is arranged alphabetically by record type, and thereunder chronologically.