Results of a study that examined the health of former Love Canal residents are expected in the fall, state health officials said Thursday.

The scope of the study, which involves about 6,000 people, has been widened over time, Health Department spokesman Bill Van Slyke said. The results are expected in October, about two years later than originally expected.

Since 1998, researchers have been studying mortality and cancer rates, birth defects and miscarriage rates among former residents and their relatives.

The Niagara Falls neighborhood was built on and around a canal that had for years been used as a chemical dump; by the 1960s and 1970s, contaminated groundwater was leaching into yards and school grounds.

President Carter declared a federal emergency in 1978 and 1980, which led to 900 families being moved and the passage in 1980 of the Superfund law.

The neighborhood has since resettled as Black Creek Village, and it was removed from the Superfund list last month.

Source: The Associated Press