Technicians, supervisor haven't submitted to DNA test requests over Tar Creek blood testing

Sunday, April 17th 2005, 11:30 am

By: News On 6

PICHER, Okla. (AP) _ Officials are still awaiting permission to run DNA tests on two blood technicians and their supervisor who worked on a study of children living within the Tar Creek Superfund site.

Diana Layman and Joy Bryant served as phlebotomists and Charles E. Wade supervised the Tribal Effort Against Lead project that did a blood-lead study of children ages six and under in the area, which has been polluted by decades of lead and zinz mining.

Fellow project workers have accused the three of placing their own blood in vials labeled as samples for Tar Creek children.

Wade, Bryant and Layman submitted to phenotyping, a test that determines blood type and antigen markers. But that left questions about nine samples taken within 30 days of the blood tampering claims being made.

Doctor Gary Raskob is dean of the University of Oklahoma College of Public Health.

Raskob told the Tulsa World that officials didn't get consent to seek the DNA tests from Layman, Bryant and Wade and three haven't returned telephone calls.