State health officials revealed Tuesday they discovered nothing unusual about the rate of infant birth defects in an impoverished San Joaquin Valley farm town located next to the West's largest hazardous area.

The officials told a packed meeting of the Kings County Board of Supervisors that they had found no common cause for the birth abnormalities and facial defects among children in Kettleman City.

The officials last week visited Kettleman City, a town of about 1,500 people in rural Kings County. Agency officials also toured the 1,600-acre Kettleman Hills landfill, which contains toxic chemicals and other waste and is four miles west of the town.

Kettleman City reported 1.09 birth defects per 100 live births an average of between 1987 and 2008, Reilly said. The rate was revealed as not unusually high in comparison to a rate of 0.94 for the surrounding five-county region between 1987 and 2007.

However, the figures extended by the department face huge criticism by some environmentalists who have long believed that the garbage in the nearby area is posing a threat to the health of those living nearby.

Moreover, numerous residents have attributed their health problems to the hazardous waste landfill and have risen against its proposed expansion, which needs state and federal approval.