The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines a cancer cluster as a greater-than-expected number of cancer cases that occurs within a group of people in a geographic area over a period of time. Yet because elevated numbers of any disease can occur by chance, and because cancer is relatively rare and its incredibly difficult to determine if rare events occur by chance the vast majority of investigations into suspected clusters dont confirm them. Submit & Share. The plaintiffs lawyers also unearthed company correspondence indicating that some of these radioactive materials wound up outside of their proper storage places. WebThis month the county's Health Department confirmed that The Acreage is home to a cancer cluster, defined as an area with rates of brain tumors and brain cancers higher In Pratt & Whitneys case, no fancy PR was necessary: its product is already understood to be not just airplane and rocket engines but national security itself. Join the New Times community and help support independent As is the case of most cancer-clusters throughout the United States, no cause was ever found. But when the low times do hit, each time it hits a little bit harder and lasts a little bit longer.. The verdict said that the The ordeal was also a turning point for Jennifer Dunsford. The study found that much of South Florida lies in a childhood cancer cluster. After a five-day hearing in 2018, Marra rejected Hatfield's request to allow all Acreage property owners to be part of the lawsuit. We need to get to the bottom of this., If living in The Acreage is deemed safe, Abruzzo said he thinks the community can recover both its equilibrium and its reputation. People said stuff like The Dunsfords are gold diggers, and they used their sons tumor as an excuse to go after a big company and get dollars, Dunsford remembers. Log in, 2010 Schechter, Shaffer & Harris, LLP, All Rights Reserved, Rori Feldman is the attorney responsible for the content of this website. Unequivocally laying the blame on one often requires showing that no other was involved. Some left that three-hour meeting feeling more frustrated than when they arrived. The history of such litigation doesnt paint a hopeful picture for the plaintiffs, who include Jessica Newfield; Garretts parents, Jennifer and Greg Dunsford; and Joyce and Bill Featherston, the mother and stepfather of Joey Baratta. Unseal statement by State Attorney Dave Aronberg's ex-wife in Glenn Straub case, newspapers ask judge, Abortion lawsuit: Boynton synagogue fights Florida's abortion limits in religious freedom suit, Corey Jones shooting: Ruling opens door to Corey Jones' family suing Palm Beach Gardens over rights violation in his death. _gaq.push(['_setDomainName', 'none']); While Marra warned Hatfield, he declined Gallagher's request. All Rights Reserved. This allows the cancer cells to divide in half and survive. Some online commenters went so far as to accuse the affected families of just plain lying. As one poster put it, Using your childs illness as a platform is repulsive.. You most likely made your way to this site because you are aware of the Cancer Study that was conducted in our area by the Florida Department of Health (not us - we in no way conducted the study). Though the FDEP says that Pratt & Whitney is in compliance, it also says there are still twenty-five hazardous-waste sites being remediated, and the cleanup which began in 1985 is today only 77 percent complete. _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); Though health officials confirmed a cluster of pediatric brain cancers, the lawsuit alleges that adults have been affected too: "According to self-reported data from the community, the 2008-2010 incidence of brain tumors for the entire Acreage population is above 30. WebA cancer cluster may be suspected when people report that several family members, friends, neighbors, or coworkers have been diagnosed with the same or related types of It found elevated levels of cancer in children in The Acreage and designated the area as a pediatric brain cancer cluster. The Florida Department of Health and the Florida Department of Environmental Protectiondid investigate whether any contamination could have conceivably been the cause of cancer, and they found none, he said. The other camp focused on the good news, such as the FDEPs pronouncement that the local drinking water was generally good, as the letter accompanying the water-testing results put it, reassuring residents that in general, residential property in the Acreage is safe for families to enjoy outside activities in their yards.. In response, the company waged a fierce, years-long battle against the Superfund designation and, in 1985, it won that fight. They may have to work in places surrounded by concrete and congested traffic, but they dont want to live there. that a federal district court improperly excluded three experts who said toxins from the companys property caused the kidney cancer that killed his wife. Study Being Conducted in The Acreage Has Been Canceled. If I could move I definitely would, she said. Your Photos. Gallagher asked U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra to declare a mistrial, claiming Hatfield violated a court order by telling the jury about claims that Marra had declared off-limits. Jane Musgrave covers federal and civil courts and occasionally ventures into criminal trials in state court. On another, two of her children, then toddlers, were shot with a paintball gun while they played in her backyard. A Pratt & Whitney spokesperson released the following statement regarding the verdict: "The jury's verdict confirms our conviction thatPratt & Whitney did not cause any contamination in the Acreage and did not cause any cancers in the cancer cluster. Though nothing stood out as the obvious cause, they felt such findings should have prompted further testing. According to The Palm Beach Post last week, U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth Ryskamp recently dismissed two separate lawsuits claiming aircraft engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney was responsible for a cluster of cancer-related illnesses affecting Acreage residents. The research found that, between 1967 and 1980, the average death rate from cancer among the companys employees had shot up from 13 per 100,000 workers to 122 [PDF] a roughly ninefold increase. That amount of dirt wouldnt be enough to provide fill for one house in the 60-square-mile community. Who knew what had been in the water that might be coming back to haunt residents? When she first moved to the area, Becky Samarripa was charmed by the sight of horses trotting by and people fishing in the canals that crisscrossed the neighborhood. _gaq.push(['gwo._setDomainName', 'none']); Nearly 10 years after it was filed, Acreage cancer cluster lawsuit headed to trial this month The plaintiffs allege Pratt & Whitney dumped chemicals that caused brain The study was requested in May of 2009. Where did I live? For many of the families whose children developed cancer, there was simply no question of staying. Like Samarripa, Dunsford was consumed with her own crisis first, Garretts loss of the use of his left hand and arm; then, his misdiagnosis (Garretts doctor thought he had a sore elbow); and after his brain tumor was discovered, the failure of surgery to completely remove it. The groups efforts extend to sponsoring green-themed events, such as elementary-school poster contests on environmental topics and Earth Day Peace Jams., But the defense contractor and the county were less keen about publicizing contamination on the companys property. If Al Qaeda sent a team of sleeper cells to poison our groundwater and release toxic materials into the air, people would go nuts. But she is also a musical girl who enjoys life and loves to sing. Palm Beach Aggregates did not respond to a request for comment for this article, and in court documents has vehemently denied causing any environmental harm. She had also gotten together with the mothers of other sick children, including Tracy Newfield, Becky Samarripa and Kaye McCann, as well as a few concerned friends and relatives, to see how they might get to the bottom of what was going on in the Acreage. Please note: We are not The Florida Department of Health. Hatfield countered that medical experts her West Palm Beach firm hired will refute those claims. Eventually, the family moved to Tennessee, but even now the comments still sting. It is time for more aggressive and decisive action.. One state regulator who was involved in the process that spared the company from the Superfund designation went directly to work for Pratt & Whitney after those negotiations. There are so many unknowns, and unknowns create hysteria and fear, she said. "We're confident that in subsequent cases, we'll be able to establish that the radioactive materials that Pratt & Whitney mishandled on its property, as the jury found, were, in fact, transported to the Acreage.". Homeowners such as Stephanie and Ira Peskowitz, a law enforcement officer, are wondering how long they can wait. local Journalism in South Florida. Five couples who lived in the area and whose children developed brain tumors are serving as plaintiffs in a class-action suit that seeks damages for local residents whose property value plummeted after the cancer cluster was publicized. Soil tests are to follow. WebA cancer cluster is a statistical event, which may or may not have a cause other than chance. Cancer cluster frightens Palm Beach County, Cancer cluster frightens Palm Beach County community, Widening manhunt for Texas gunman who killed five neighbors slowed by zero leads, Golden Beach police sergeant in stable condition after shooting during chase of car-theft suspects, Skies clear in South Florida as residents clean up from 130-mph tornado in Palm Beach County, Mike Shannon, who spent 50 years in the St. Louis Cardinals broadcast booth after winning 2 World Series, dies at 83. 31. Experimental science tries to understand the relationship between x chemical and y outcome in a controlled setting, says Madeleine Scammell, an assistant professor of environmental health at the Boston University School of Public Health. Throughout his opening statement, Gallagher emphasized thatthe allegations Hatfield is making dont make sense. I began to be concerned about the area where I lived, said Dunsford, who moved to The Acreage from Broward County. Unseal statement by State Attorney Dave Aronberg's ex-wife in Glenn Straub case, newspapers ask judge, Boynton synagogue fights Florida's abortion limits in religious freedom suit, Ruling opens door to Corey Jones' family suing Palm Beach Gardens over rights violation in his death, Families argue Pratt & Whitney caused cancer cluster in South Florida. But not a lot of communities with brain-tumor clusters.. A 2010 report from the Florida Department of Health confirmed her worst fears. var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); The Newfields are one of the few directly affected families to stay in the Acreage. You can only live like this for so long.. These include Cesium-137, Iridium-191, and Cadmium-109. They didnt investigate Pratt because its 6 miles away from the nearest home in The Acreage and as much as 14 miles away from those at the southern end, near Lion Country Safari. The Dunsfords collected anecdotal data, demanded an investigation, and the word spread. function utmx_section(){}function utmx(){} Am I being selfish by staying here? Alonso was surely aware of how daunting a task it would be to pinpoint and prove the cause of the increase. The lawsuit extends to "every current or former Acreage area landowner who owns or owned an Acreage property at any time since August 24, 2009." This study was requested when it was discovered that multiple children and adultssuffered or diedfrom brain tumors and live within a close radius of one another. A mixture of chemicals that can cross the blood-brain barrier and cause cancer in mice, jet fuel was found at the Pratt & Whitney facility in Florida. Kaye McCann, also in the auditorium, was more pessimistic. Thats where public health does its best job. She felt that the high number of pediatric brain tumors in the Acreage was most likely due to chance rather than any environmental cause (she also noted that the rate was no longer elevated). Millions of dollars could be at stake. South Florida's independent She declared the backyard pool off-limits. The deal is being financed with some $4.4 million in public incentives, including $3.4 million from the state and $1 million from Palm Beach County. State workers this week are taking soil samples in the Acreage, digging soil, digging for answers to what's causing the pediatric cancer cluster. Once the lawyers get involved, then the lawyers have to talk, the countys Alina Alonso explained to me. Thats why I am pushing for tests. (function(){var k='2354831680',d=document,l=d.location,c=d.cookie;function f(n){if(c){var i=c.indexOf(n+'=');if(i>-1){var j=c.indexOf(';',i);return escape(c.substring(i+n.length+1,j<0?c.length:j))}}}var x=f('__utmx'),xx=f('__utmxx'),h=l.hash; The McCanns left as well and are now living in the mountains of North Georgia with their two children. They asked experts to conduct hundreds of soil and medical tests.
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