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. Prior to the cancer cluster, homes in The Acreage consistently sold at about 92% of the value of Jupiter Farms homes. The smallest plots are more than an acre, and many are larger, so houses are a good distance from one another. And, most important, it would have ensured a higher level of enforcement than the state was likely to provide. Earlier this month, the Florida Health Department confirmed that a Some residents of The Acreage have filed a class action lawsuit against Pratt & Whitney. By May 2009, Jennifer Dunsford had developed a database documenting dozens of cancers in children and adults throughout the neighborhood. Acreage cancer cluster trial underway in West Palm Beach By Linnie Supall Published: Jul. But not a lot of communities with brain-tumor clusters.. Given the expense and labor involved, health departments are often loath even to attempt to track down the causes of clusters. 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. 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. They wanted us to move on and say our water was fine, recalls Tracy Newfield, who was a member of the group. Nor did it account for the fact that many of the cases were clumped in the northern part of the study area, which meant that the concentration of cancer in that particular spot was even higher there than what the Health Department had found in the larger area. Type Media Center document.write(new Date().getFullYear()). A civil engineer testified about his independent forensic investigation, which determined that the radioactive materials on Pratt & Whitney's campus matched the same materials found in The Acreage. He claimed that further press coverage could bias jury selection. She bought bottled water which her family used for cooking, drinking and even brushing their teeth. This month the countys 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 than normal. The verdict said that the While much of the trial will focus on the trauma the families experienced and complex scientific information about the sources, causes and dangers of radiation, the jury wont be asked to determine if the parents should be compensated for their childrens illnesses and deaths. Based on the self-reported data the pediatric cancer cluster declared by the State for the years 2004-2008 would be expanded to a general brain cancer cluster from 2004-2010.". What can we do to protect the family? One, composed primarily of families of the children stricken with cancer, focused on the fact that the research had identified several contaminants above FDEP cleanup levels, including radium-226, benzene and a variety of other commonly occurring carcinogens. Evidence suggests the incidence of such cancers may be especially elevated among children. When Hannah got sick in 2007, her mother had no idea that, just a few blocks away in the Acreage their lush South Florida community other children had also suffered through the same awful symptoms. 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; 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. 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. We are concerned residents just like you. It will likely take years for the lawsuits against Pratt & Whitney to be resolved. The experts discussed radiation, well water tests and demographic studies. Seminole Ridge High is a big school, and its ample, stucco-walled auditorium can hold hundreds of people, as it does for the pep rallies before Hawks games. As they anxiously eyed the array of health officials lined up on the stage, the Acreages residents got the news that none of them wanted. Interviews for this article with Hatfield and her firms plaintiffs were conducted before the gag order went into effect in September. One is the local mining company Palm Beach Aggregates, which has mined limestone for road construction for more than two decades using a dredging process that contributed naturally occurring radiation to the local water system. But the answer to that question is not available, the experts said, and the frustration of the audience often boiled over into angry outbursts. Now 12, he has auditory processing problems, memory issues and dyslexia, which were all diagnosed after his cancer. He was introduced to us as an engineer, Newfield says. But the house is basically worthless, and where are you going to go in this job market?. A news conference slated to discuss the results of a Acreage Cancer Cluster study being conducted. Added pediatrician Shairi Turner, deputy secretary of the department: We want to find an answer to what is causing brain cancer in your children.. She knew and somehow understood and was OK with it, Kaye McCann said recently. Like most other suspected clusters, that one had failed upon investigation to clear the statistical bar. Though Becky Samarripa chose not to get involved in any litigation, the radiation theory makes sense to her. This allows the cancer cells to divide in half and survive. I felt like people were looking at me saying, Shes the evil one who wants to ruin everything. Hell ask for something and say, I appreciate that you bought me that, but lets go snuggle. He values spending time with people.. "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.". The lawsuit was filed in 2016, but the issue started well before in 2009 when several residents in the community reported brain and head tumors that were increasingly above expected rates. Judges tend to be, historically, extremely deferential to anything relating to national security, especially if it involves the military, says Stephen Dycus, a professor at Vermont Law School and the author ofNational Defense and the Environment. P2 began as a friendly collaboration based on the good working relationship between the regulatory community and industry, as one internal document put it. State workers this week are taking soil samples in the Acreage, digging soil, digging for answers to what's causing the pediatric cancer cluster. 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. 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). With its engines for fighter planes such as the F-22 Raptor, Pratt & Whitneys products power air forces in twenty-two countries. It is West of Palm Bch Gdns, North of Royal Palm Beach. WebStudying cancer clusters allows scientists to identify areas of increased cancer risk, as well as to try to figure out what is causing the increase in risk. The plaintiffs' attorneys will appeal this week's decision and said there are other cases brought by residents that have not gone to trial. Kaye McCann, also in the auditorium, was more pessimistic. And a local firm began representing several of the cases. There are many factors that make it easy for a company to pollute with impunity. Sadly, she said, the investigation by the state agencies wasnt thorough. We would like to keep a list of those in need so that when services become available we can notify you. (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; A lawsuit filed in 2016 is finally being heard in federal court, but the issue started well before 2009 when several residents in The Acreage reported brain and head tumors that were increasingly above expected rates. He doesnt value things at all, is how Dunsford described Garrett recently, adding that hes become the family comforter. Soon, Dunsford discovered that three other youngsters in the sprawling rural community in the western reaches of Palm Beach County had recently received similarly grim news. Some who were unable to sell simply walked away from their homes. The Acreage has no sewer or water systems, but until recently at least it did offer peace and quiet. Dalia Dippolito May Have Tried to Kill Him, But Michael Dippolito Is No Saint, Hallandale Beach Shoplifter Killed By Police Because of Dispatching Error, His Family Claims, SoFlo Born and Bred: Logan Sargeant Gears Up for Miami Grand Prix, Celebrity Cruise Ship Kept Corpse in Drink Cooler, Lawsuit Says, Brightline Train Rips Apart Car Carrier in Hollywood Rail Collision (VIDEO), Open Season: Margate's Lax Safeguards Raise Fear of Fraud and Abuse, OIG Says, Photos: Fort Lauderdale Residents Assess Damage Wrought by Historic Flooding, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Study Being Conducted in The Acreage Has Been Canceled. South Florida's independent _udn = "none"; 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 A cancer On another, two of her children, then toddlers, were shot with a paintball gun while they played in her backyard. This is a privately run and owned website. 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. 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.). When she died, Jenna was 4 years old. com/acreage But it would take all of the afflicted families years to connect the dots among their tragedies. 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. If anything happened to them, she said, I could not live with myself. function utmx_section(){}function utmx(){} There are other cancer clusters that occur without any obvious source of Disclaimer: This map is intended to be used as a visual tool ONLY. 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. To a lay audience, the scientific documents were indecipherable. Attorneys have claimed that the state failed to properly test for specific radioactive contamination, ignored concerns voiced by its own people and neglected to hold Pratt & Whitney accountable for not cleaning up years' worth of toxic contamination in the area. })(); 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. 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. I began to be concerned about the area where I lived, said Dunsford, who moved to The Acreage from Broward County. 2 killed, 4 wounded in Mississippi shooting; man arrested, 150 years later, Dixon bridge tragedy among nation's worst, Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy says he wants to 'shut down the FBI' and replace it with something that sounds a lot like the FBI, Sanders: Biden could win in a landslide. Log in, 2010 Schechter, Shaffer & Harris, LLP, All Rights Reserved, Rori Feldman is the attorney responsible for the content of this website. Workers dressed in protective gear sometimes sprayed pesticides in the citrus groves that abut Seminole Ridge High, even as teenagers practiced on nearby sports fields in shorts and T-shirts. 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. It is time for more aggressive and decisive action.. local Journalism in South Florida. WebThe Florida Department of Environmental Protection designated a pediatric cancer cluster in 2010 in The Acreage after a spate of pediatric brain tumor cases. In recent days, state officials have promised to do more. But documents from the 1960s through the 90s show that Pratt & Whitney had licenses to use at least a dozen radioactive substances [PDF], including radium D and E, thoriated nickel and cesium-137, in Florida. 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. So Hatfield and Scarola took their test results to the media. As they anxiously eyed the array of health officials lined up on the stage, the Acreages residents got the news that none of them wanted. West Palm Beach attorney Jack Scarola took the lead on this case for the Acreage residents. A federal jury rejected claims Tuesday that Pratt & Whitney was responsible for a cancer cluster in The Acreage more than a decade ago. 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. Since Jennas death in 2006, Kaye had become less trusting. (Naturally occurring means that the radioactive substances originated in the soil, water or other natural materials, but may have been concentrated by industrial activity.) 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. (Sharon Lerner). and help keep the future of New Times, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our. The bottom line: Did Pratt & Whitney's actions depress property values? ' Her husband refuses to leave, though, because they are three years from paying off their mortgage and, if they sold the house, would lose so much money that they couldnt afford to buy another. In June of 2009, a local reporter got hold of one of the forms Dunsford was sending around and wrote a story about her efforts. var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; As you can see on the map, we are tracking all health concerns that are reported to us. Contamination spread to the nearby aquifer and canals, and the lawsuit blames the two companies. The epidemiological investigation of the cluster took five years to conduct and cost taxpayers more than $10 million. The Centers for Disease When it comes to cancer, were more on the prevention side, she told me when I met with her in Palm Beach this past April. The information reflected on this map has been voluntarily provided by persons from The Acreage. PCBs were also found in fish [PDF] that swam in ponds on the companys grounds, at more than 7,000 times the safe level set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for human consumption. 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. The Dunsfords created all this fear, resident Michelle James told The Palm Beach Post. Lack of proof was cited as the reason for the dismissals. _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); | Credit: GARY CORONADO/THE PALM BEACH POST. Pratt & Whitney designs and manufactures engines for airplanes, rockets and even the space shuttle. The designation would have also alerted people in the area and those considering moving there to the potential for environmental danger. But after two assessments of the plot in question found ubiquitous contamination, the deal quietly fell through. But many were outraged when state health officials said that instead of environmental tests to hunt for the cancer cause, they would mount an awareness campaign instead. The couples two sons, Isaac, 4, and Ilan, 2, were born here, and they are growing up in a neighborhood where tall pines, open spaces and a variety of family pets are commonplace. In one sense, I would not go through what theyre going through every day of their lives, wondering if [regular testing for cancer] is going to come back positive, she says. The way the numbers and facts are being reported is confusing. Damone also has urged Crist to set up an office in The Acreage where residents could receive information, even counseling. Unequivocally laying the blame on one often requires showing that no other was involved. McCann knows that even if the puzzle of the Acreage cluster is finally solved, it wouldnt bring Jenna back. Yet neither agency did so. Then, in the summer before ninth grade, while her family was visiting a Civil War memorial on the coast of Alabama, Hannah collapsed. A Florida man who says Pratt & Whitney created a pollution and cancer cluster told the 11th Circ. The family moved to Tennessee and sold their Acreage home through a short sale in 2011. Should I be gone?, Here Peskowitz paused. So they were shocked to hear the health officials explain that the community was definitely experiencing a cluster of pediatric brain tumors, as well as elevated rates of all cancers at all ages. What was around me? 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I think about it every time I open up the freezer and were out of store-bought ice.. Michelle Damone, president of the Indian Trail Improvement District, the local governing board, has been pushing for more evidence of the cluster. On one occasion, her car got egged. (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material or NORM.) Convinced something in the water or the soil was making children sick, Dunsford said the familys dream home quickly turned into a prison. By the time the spring dance rolled around, Hannah didnt have the strength to paint her own toenails. _gaq.push(['_setAllowHash', false]); Becky Samarripa, too, was shaken by the cluster designation, which seemed to confirm her worst fear: that something in their surroundings was making them sick. ", Jury rejects Acreage families lawsuit against Pratt & Whitney, Tornado that tore through Palm Beach Gardens had winds of at least 100 mph, Trees toppled, homes damaged, cars overturned in tornado, Tornado tosses boat from cove onto lawn in North Palm Beach, Unofficial Boca Bash to draw thousands of boaters Sunday, Fort Lauderdale Air Show delayed until afternoon because of bad weather, Verhaeghe scores in OT as Panthers eliminate Bruins from playoffs, Cleanup underway after tornado rips through North Palm Beach neighborhood, Butler, Heat start semifinals with 108-101 win over Knicks, National Weather Service upgrades tornado to EF2 with peak winds of 130 mph. I was After a five-day hearing in 2018, Marra rejected Hatfield's request to allow all Acreage property owners to be part of the lawsuit. Charlie Crist and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-FL, have urged the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to get involved. During the next year, while Jenna was undergoing cancer treatment, both dogs developed tumors and died. We know youre fearful of what these results mean, said Sharon Watkins, an environmental epidemiologist with the Florida Department of Health. Alonso emphasized the many questions about the causes of cancer: diet soda, cellphones and microwave ovens may play a role, she said, concluding that it doesnt seem practical or reasonable to start searching blindly. Instead, Alonso said, the health agency would focus on raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of brain cancer to increase early detection. However, five years later, her youngest son was diagnosed with brain cancer. Jet fuel, which was the suspected cause of another cancer cluster in Fallon, Nevada, may also have played a role at the Acreage. One of Toms Rivers legacies is that public-health agencies are quite uninterested in pursuing these investigations, which are very expensive, very difficult to resolve conclusively, make a lot of people angry, and make life difficult for politicians, Fagin told me. 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). Its always with me were out to dinner or whatever, and you hear Tick, tock. While the jury found that Pratt & Whitney was not responsible for cancer that multiple residents contracted, the verdict said that the company "failed to exercise reasonable care in the use and disposal of radioactive materials" at the facility. 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 Tracy Newfield, who had been vocal in asking for an investigation, started receiving prank calls about the cluster and had her mailbox knocked over several times. Submit & Share. The concept of tranquility is right in our founding documents, said state Rep. Joseph Abruzzo, D- Wellington. WebA cancer cluster is a statistical event, which may or may not have a cause other than chance. I needed to know if living there was the best thing for my family.. Then there were the rumors that the area had been a dumping ground before the Acreage was developed. Our Platform. In its eagerness to close on the deal, Palm Beach Aggregates minimized the hazards posed by its pits and allowed the radiation problem to escalate, according to the plaintiffs lawyers in the Acreage case. 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. It found elevated levels of cancer in children in The Acreage and designated the area as a pediatric brain cancer cluster. But for the Peskowitz family, and thousands of others in this western Palm Beach County community, the joy of living miles away from the urban clutter and noise has been supplanted by something louder and more insistent fear. Shaggy cabbage-palm and cypress trees flank the neighborhoods sandy, unpaved roads. After years of litigation, their attorney, Jan Schlictmann, was left temporarily bankrupt, homeless and personally devastated. And hes particularly prone to headaches. And anybody with children is worried about that.. Families in this south Florida town point to two companies as the source of the contamination that caused their childrens disease.
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