The Acreage Cancer Study

Hi Everyone,

Today is the meeting with the Florida Department of Health and the Palm Beach County Health Department. We hope you can make it.

Below are a few articles of interest for you to review.

Have a great day!

Meeting with health officials gives Acreage residents' a turn to demand answer on cancer cluster

By Mitra Malek Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Updated: 6:50 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010

THE ACREAGE — State health officials have said a lot about The Acreage in the past week.

Theysaid they've found a cluster of childhood brain cancer in thecommunity, a semi-rural swath filled with dirt roads and private wells.

They said they don't see any apparent cause, and that they aren't planning environmental tests to find one.

Then, after days of criticism, they said tests are on the way.

Tuesday night, frustrated residents get to talk back.

Residents and elected officials said they plan to demand clear data and furtherinvestigation from state health and environmental officials, who arescheduled to discuss the cluster investigation with a crowd of as manyas 844 people starting at 6:30 p.m. at Seminole Ridge High School.

The officials will take questions, but they plan to shut the doors once the auditorium reaches capacity.

The Palm Beach County school district has increased security to four orfive school police officers, and the sheriff's office plans to send four deputies to the event.

To view the full article, Click Here.

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Erin Brockovich: Awareness not enough; give Acreage residents action

By Letters To The Editor

Updated: 8:00 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8, 2010

It has been almost a year since I heard from residents of The Acreage regarding its high rates of pediatric brain cancers and tumors. In that time I have heard from countless concerned citizens who know something is wrong in their community. Although it saddened me to have this disturbing knowledge confirmed, it came as no surprise when thePalm Beach County Health Department designated a cancer cluster in TheAcreage, as confirmed by the Florida Department of Health.

What did come as a surprise was the subsequent declaration that the efforts to find an underlying cause for this cluster had been abandoned. With confirmation that there is a statistically significant elevation in the rates of childhood brain cancers, how can the health department expect the members of the community simply to go on with their lives as if nothing were amiss? Every day, I get new e-mails from parents who are terrified for the well-being of their children. It is on their behalft hat I urge the health department to correct this misguided approach.

Several months ago, Palm Beach County Health Department Director Alina Alonso affirmed the rarity of officially designated cancer clusters. This makes the confirmation of such a cluster all the more alarming. Now,the health department, in conjunction with other government agencies,needs to begin looking for answers. Dr. Alonso maintains that her department wishes to focus on "awareness." I applaud the department for taking the initiative to talk with residents and let them know the dangers they might face. But this is only half of what the department owes this community. Where is the follow-through? Awareness is no substitute for action.

To view the full article, Click Here.

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Mediator to assess ground water problem in Yakima

By The Yakima Herald-Republic

Published: 02/08/10 9:24 am | Updated: 02/08/10 9:28 a.m.

YAKIMA -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has hired a local mediator to try to find "areas of common ground" for resolving theYakima Valley's ground water contamination problem.

The DisputeResolution Center of Yakima and Kittitas Counties has agreed tocontract with the EPA to conduct a "situation assessment," which is aseries of interviews with different and often opposing interest groupsaffected by the ground water problem.

Thomas Eaton, director of EPA's Washington operations office in Seattle, said the effort could beuseful to the county's recently announced plan to be the lead agencyfor a newly created Groundwater Management Area, a state-approvedvehicle for managing the ground water in order to stop contamination.

Hesaid the assessment could help provide guidelines for thedecision-making body of a ground water management area and could createa way to involve the Yakama Nation. Many private wells on reservationlands are contaminated. The tribe banned new and expanding dairies andfeedlots in 2008.

Matt Fairbank, executive director of the Dispute Resolution Center, will conduct the assessment.

Commissionershave been skeptical of EPA involvement in Yakima Valley water problems.But Vern Redifer, the county's director of public services, said thecounty doesn't object to the assessment.

"It's safe to say YakimaCounty does not see a downside in doing this. He's (Fairbank) basicallygoing to be talking to stakeholders to get a sense of what the issuesare," Redifer said.

To view the full article, Click Here.