the acreage cancer cluster
The study was requested in May of 2009. Hatfield, who had grown up in the area and had young children of her own, was familiar with the rumors of pollution and pesticides in the Acreage and throughout South Florida. Dycus notes that its not uncommon for defense-related companies to resist providing information because of military sensitivity, as Pratt & Whitney has done in the Acreage case. It helped start the P2 Coalition of Palm Beach County (P2 is short for pollution prevention) in 1994, along with the Palm Beach County Health Department, other local businesses and the Jupiter Chamber of Commerce. Then there were the rumors that the area had been a dumping ground before the Acreage was developed. Though the investigation turned up thirteen brain tumors in Acreage kids between 1994 and 2007, the official cluster consisted of just three girls, all of whom were diagnosed with brain cancer between 2005 and 2007. The bottom line: Did Pratt & Whitney's actions depress property values? And Joey Baratta, who moved to the Acreage with his mother and stepfather in 2004, when he was 15, spent much of his time there riding his ATV and working on his parents land, which abutted one of the areas many canals. Then they have to say, Well, we dont even know that this is cause and effect in which case, people feel like they got nothing.. To the attorneys assertion that Pratt & Whitney was the only possible source of the radiation, Pratts lawyers replied that it could have come from other sources, such as the Chernobyl disaster, through which nuclear radiation has been spread world-wide.. The verdict said that the The Florida Department ofHealth will continue to work with the people of Florida and these organizations to someday find the answer that will prevent a child from getting cancer. I began to be concerned about the area where I lived, said Dunsford, who moved to The Acreage from Broward County. In the fall of 2004, the little girl often played in the grass of her yard with her two dogs. The anticipated three-week trial got off to a blustery start. If tests prove that residents are at risk to cancers, then I would recommend that residents protect their families.. At Miami Childrens Hospital, where their son was treated, the Dunsfords met the family of another brain cancer patient who lived just a mile away. _gaq.push(['_setDomainName', 'none']); I figured it was a weird coincidence, says Dunsford, a sharp-witted mother of three with glasses and shoulder-length brown hair. Pratt & Whitney Named in First Lawsuit Filed Over The Acreage Cancer Cluster Some residents of The Acreage have filed a class action lawsuit against Pratt & Whitney. We are concerned residents just like you. Its always with me were out to dinner or whatever, and you hear Tick, tock. Chicago attorney Sean Gallagher said state regulatory agencies not only cleared Pratt of wrong-doing but also declared that The Acreage is safe for families to enjoy outdoor activities in their yards.. We are seeking answers to a long list of questions and we are hoping that this websiteprovides usefulinformation to you. I think about it every time I open up the freezer and were out of store-bought ice.. Since then, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has overseen the cleanup of the area, a process that has involved the removal of many tens of thousands of tons of contaminated soil and thousands of gallons of fuel from the groundwater. And the reputation of an area long known as a healthy, bucolic alternative to urbanization was in tatters. Consider Abernethys 2004 description of his work on the J58 engine: We built a huge swimming pool with a tall tower to centrifuge the poison out of the exhaust. (When recently deposed by attorneys in the Acreage case, Abernethy said he had trouble recalling any poison fuel.). The acreage is an unincorporated area in Palm Beach County, it's not the actual name of the city. The company was seeking privacy because some of its projects were classified. At least at first, the land to the south of that was uninhabited and, since much of it was underwater, largely uninhabitable. So its to the credit of those who pushed for a more thorough look at the Acreage including then-Governor Charlie Crist and Senator Bill Nelson that an investigation into the possible causes of the cluster was launched at all. Residents of The Acreage, a south Florida town, at a community meeting in 2010. It would be an act of war, Dycus notes. 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. While Jessica, now 20, is attending college, Tracy has been spearheading the creation of the Garden of Hope, a place in the Acreage where people can go to honor their loved ones who have had cancer. With its engines for fighter planes such as the F-22 Raptor, Pratt & Whitneys products power air forces in twenty-two countries. She said she and other lawyers scoured tens of thousands of documents. WebThe Acreage is an unincorporated Palm Beach community which has experienced significant growth in its 25 years to around 39,000 people. She enjoys her family, her job and her small town. McCann knows that even if the puzzle of the Acreage cluster is finally solved, it wouldnt bring Jenna back. Please note: We are not The Florida Department of Health. var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; "If they can't get that verdict, it kind of dimmers where we're at here because what is it going to take here? 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.. If Al Qaeda sent a team of sleeper cells to poison our groundwater and release toxic materials into the air, people would go nuts. Whatever you find, there will be people who doubt the veracity of your findings because we dont live in an experimental setting, and you can never control all of the factors that might have contributed to that disease occurrence.. She bought bottled water which her family used for cooking, drinking and even brushing their teeth. They dont walk, they run in the opposite direction of these kinds of things, says Clapp. By that time, home prices in the acreage had fallen to about half their peak in 2006. By the time the tumor At various points, contaminated water escaped the dredging pits and seeped into the canal and groundwater in the Acreage, according to the plaintiffs complaint. We have learned whats truly important in life, and its definitely not a house, she says. The anxiety and uncertainty now haunting The Acreage began to surface months ago. Shaggy cabbage-palm and cypress trees flank the neighborhoods sandy, unpaved roads. Hell ask for something and say, I appreciate that you bought me that, but lets go snuggle. He values spending time with people.. The Acreage suits which now include at least thirteen individual personal-injury and wrongful-death cases, and two class-action suits over the loss of real-estate value are no easy moneymakers. In 2011, Hatfields firm filed its first suit against both Palm Beach Aggregates and Pratt & Whitney, accusing the companies of creating the pollution, including radiation, that caused Joey Barattas death. Trucking manifests and other documents will show that contaminated soil, most of which was shipped out on rail cars to hazardous disposal sitesin Michigan and South Carolina, was handled properly, he said. But, he said, state agencies found no evidence either the water or the soil was contaminated. Am I being selfish by staying here? The suit over whether several companies had caused a cluster of leukemia cases in children in Woburn, Massachusetts, chronicled in the book (and later movie) A Civil Action, was incredibly lengthy, costly and labor-intensive, and the plaintiffs walked away with relatively small settlements. Instead, jurors will be asked whether Pratt is responsible for depressing property values in the community. According to a 1983 report, there were three plumes of jet fuel totaling some 53,000 gallons beneath the companys property, and a layer on top of the groundwater in certain places as well. For many of the families whose children developed cancer, there was simply no question of staying. We ask that if you live in the area and have a brain tumor, some form of cancer, or another diagnosed medical problem, that you call the Palm Beach County Department of Health at 561-514-5300. Where did I live? Sharon Lerner is a reporting fellow with Type Investigations covering environmental issues for The Intercept. But the answer to that question is not available, the experts said, and the frustration of the audience often boiled over into angry outbursts. In Deceit and Denial: The Deadly Politics of Industrial Pollution, historian David Rosner describes how plastics and chemical manufacturers avoided regulation in part by making their own economic interests seem synonymous with those of the country. The Acreage Cancer Study 2011 But if the jury agrees that Pratt didn't properly dispose of radioactive materials, she could revive a class-action lawsuit, seeking compensation for the nearly 40,000 people who own property in the rural enclave. Before you start printing and downloading, be sure you have read the article first. If I could move I definitely would, she said. (Sharon Lerner). And both were so grueling that they left the victors unsure whether the effort had been worth it. The agencies tested water from over seventy private wells and several of the canals that ran through the area, as well as soil samples from thirty-five homes, for more than 200 chemicals. But she is also a musical girl who enjoys life and loves to sing. "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.". Yet once again, concerns about the cancer rates in the community have been raised, this time by a law firm representing nine clients, most of them former Acreage residents with victims of cancer in their families. On Wednesday, 12 years after Dunsford asked for the investigation, she told her story to a jury as the first witness in a long-delayed and much-anticipated trial that will determine whether jet engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney will be blamed for the cancer cluster. When Stephanie Peskowitz and her husband Ira bought a home in The Acreage five years ago, they figured they had found a woodsy paradise large enough for their dreams. Submit & Share. Indeed, some of the children with cancer had lived just 1,000 feet from one another. 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. _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); WebThe Faces of The Acreage Cancer Cluster Name: Garrett D. Diagnosis: Brain Tumor Age of Diagnosis: 5 Status: Medical monitoring at St. Jude Childrens Hospital Biography: Garrett was five years old when he was diagnosed with an Astrocytoma brain tumor. These include Cesium-137, Iridium-191, and Cadmium-109. The families are also filing individual lawsuits for damages. Attorney Mara Hatfield, who is representing the parents, including ones who lost children to cancer, told a jury that the evidence against the government contractor is overwhelming. Some who were unable to sell simply walked away from their homes. The way some members of the community are (function() { And although the interviews did not enable investigators to pinpoint the cause of the disease, Health Department director Alina Alonso on Feb. 1 confirmed the existence of a cancer cluster. Contact her at [email protected]. In response, the company waged a fierce, years-long battle against the Superfund designation and, in 1985, it won that fight. 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. Since so many of its operations are top secret, it is difficult to disprove the companys claims that it has never worked on nuclear planes or spacecraft in Florida. In addition to TE-NORM, radionuclides have been detected in the Acreage that are not naturally occurring. But after two assessments of the plot in question found ubiquitous contamination, the deal quietly fell through. Added pediatrician Shairi Turner, deputy secretary of the department: We want to find an answer to what is causing brain cancer in your children.. 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. In 2000, when Pratt & Whitney was considering leaving its Florida site, it entered into discussions with Palm Beach County about selling some of its land as a site for drinking wells. Last week the states Department of Environmental Protection began sampling ground water and well water from several Acreage homes. While Marra warned Hatfield, he declined Gallagher's request. Garrett Dunsford, too, is both thriving and living with the ongoing health effects of his cancer. Then, two years later, another study was published concluding that cancer rates among the companys workers were not elevated. Although the Defense Department (which utilizes some 30 million acres of land) and its contractors are subject to the same environmental laws as everyone else, the difficulties of prosecuting such cases means that they can and often do, according to Dycus get away with contaminating the environment. Since there is no evidence that contaminated groundwater traveled a distance of 6 to 14 miles to the Acreage from Pratts 7,000-acre compound off the Beeline Highway, Hatfield and her legal team will argue that it was carried there by trucks. _gaq.push(['_setAllowHash', false]); Earlier this month, the Florida Health Department confirmed that a Some residents of The Acreage have filed a class action lawsuit against Pratt & Whitney. On Wednesday, 12 years 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. })(); It takes everything in me some days not to fall apart. local Journalism in South Florida. The Newfields also recently installed a sophisticated water-filtration system for their well, though Tracy recently discovered that Jessica had bought and stashed away bottled water. Map Of Cancer Clusters In Florida Printable Maps Can I download quality, printable maps? If you have any questions, please send an email to: WE ARE NO LONGER COLLECTING THIS DATA - IF YOU HAVE A BRAIN CANCER CASE TO REPORT PLEASE CONTACT THE PALM BEACH COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH (561) 514-5300. In the Acreage, there were many possible hazards to consider. The plaintiffs attorneys notified both the state and county health departments of their findings in September of last year and urged them to begin larger-scale testing. McCann ultimately found it too painful to be around the group of Acreage parents pursuing the cause of their childrens cancer, because most of their children survived. In court filings, Pratt & Whitney has denied the use of poison fuel, calling charges that it contaminated the Acreage completely speculative. But while the companys attorneys dismissed their opponents theories, Pratt & Whitney hasnt offered much explanation of its operations: it resisted requests to do water and soil testing on its property and declined to answer several of the opposing lawyers questions on the grounds that they related to classified matters of national security. Pratt & Whitney had licenses to use at least a dozen radioactive substances, the average death rate from cancer among the companys employees had shot up from 13 per 100,000 workers to 122, This Week in Extremism: Far Right Extremism in 2023 and the January 6th Insurrection, Faulty Information About Immigrants Can Lead to Family Separation and Denied Asylum Claims, Hanfords Leaky Nuke Tanks and Sick Workers, A Never-Ending Saga. Instead of taking dirt that had been soaked with jet fuel to a facility to be cleaned and recycled, Hatfield claims it was sold as fill to people who were building homes on low-lying, flood-prone lots in The Acreage. There are so many unknowns, and unknowns create hysteria and fear, she said. Each day held a new surprise for them. Loxahatchee (Acreage) Cancer Cluster where the rate of brain tumors in children is alarmingly high, making raising a young family (or any family) in that area life threatening 3. Their press conference last August yielded a few local stories, and one unintended consequence: Judge Joseph Marx, who was presiding over Joey Barattas case, ordered the attorneys not to speak about the case with the press. Hatfield countered that medical experts her West Palm Beach firm hired will refute those claims. 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. The Dunsfords created all this fear, resident Michelle James told The Palm Beach Post. And hes particularly prone to headaches. 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. A judge heard testimony Friday about a forensic investigation that's shedding light on radioactive materials found on the campus of Pratt & Whitney and The Acreage community. 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. WebThe Florida Department of Environmental Protection designated a pediatric cancer cluster in 2010 in The Acreage after a spate of pediatric brain tumor cases. I look at the kids when they are sleeping, and I have to stop for a minute and take a breath, said Stephanie Peskowitz, 34, a nurse. Charlie Crist and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-FL, have urged the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to get involved. Contamination of Iridium-191 and Cadmium-109 is particularly associated with tge metal processing industry generally and with airplane engine and turbine manufacturing and testing of the type conducted by Pratt Whitney at its Palm Beach Facility. Convinced something in the water or the soil was making children sick, Dunsford said the familys dream home quickly turned into a prison. WebWhat is a cancer cluster? The Law Did Not Treat Them Kindly. But the effect of confirming The Acreage as a cancer cluster was immediate. Soil tests are to follow. (function() { | Credit: GARY CORONADO/THE PALM BEACH POST. We know youre fearful of what these results mean, said Sharon Watkins, an environmental epidemiologist with the Florida Department of Health. Also citing the gag order, Pratt & Whitney declined to answer questions for this article, stating only that Pratt & Whitneys position is documented in its court filings related to the Acreage.. Florida will appeal to the federal government for help investigating the cancer cluster in The Acreage, Gov. _udn = "none"; Her mother, Becky Samarripa, did it for her, and then drove Hannah to school and waited outside, knowing shed be able to put in only a brief appearance. As you can see on the map, we are tracking all health concerns that are reported to us. This map reflects data that we have collected via personal emails & phone calls. The process involved, at various points, the CDC, the state and Palm Beach County departments of health, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). crystals for repressed memories,
