new book called Lake Effect - pollution as personal cause

[Guest guest]

Author sees pollution as personal cause

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

By Templeton, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

As it turned out, growing up in Waukegan, Ill., on the shores of Lake

Michigan, provided great health risks for Nichols and her

sister Sue.

" Every chemical known dangerous to human health was in one of three

toxic sites there, " A. Nichols said.

Her book, " Lake Effect: Two Sisters and a Town's Toxic Legacy, "

provides considerable evidence that environmental pollution played a

role in the ovarian cancer that killed her sister and a rare form of

pancreatic cancer that afflicted her.

Island Press published her book in August.

Publication of Ms. Nichols' book fulfilled a deathbed wish of her

sister to investigate whether her ovarian cancer could be linked to

industrial pollutions in Waukegan and Lake Michigan. That posed a

sizable challenge given the difficulty of tracking a precise cause of

cancer, be it genes, lifestyle, environmental exposure, or a

combination of the three.

Ms. Nichols said she was aware of such difficulties. Yet she presents

convincing proof that Waukegan and Lake Michigan are prime suspects

in the sisters' cancers.

" I have no courtroom proof, but I have no doubt either, " said Ms.

Nichols, now of Boston. " In the book I don't say this caused my

cancer. I show the huge amount of evidence, then let readers make

their own conclusions. "

She said the nation's medical system is not set up to ask why cancers

occur and receives no encouragement or support to track down the

causes.

For that reason, Ms. Nichols said, her story is universal. Many

people live near polluted water, landfills and toxic waste sites.

Suspicions about cancer and its causes should compel people to raise

questions and do research whether environmental exposures might be a

cause.

It's a story " played out time and time again in this country, " she

said.

" Lots of people are asking questions about asthma, autism and

learning disabilities and the environment, " Ms. Nichols said. " I

wanted to use my story to try to help people think about these

issues. "

Waukegan has numerous Superfund sites, which the Environmental

Protection Agency has earmarked for cleanup. Lake Michigan also is

polluted with contaminants including PCBs -- polychlorinated

biphenyls that now are banned industrial chemicals that cause cancer,

birth defects and illnesses.

" I don't have a legislative agenda, but I think the Great Lakes

should be cleaned up because it represents 20 percent of Earth's

fresh water supply, " Ms. Nichols said

She was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer, but after

surgery and chemotherapy she said she thinks she is cured. She has

not needed further treatment.

People magazine said her book represents " a chilling indictment of

how government and big business prize profits over health. " It

describes " Lake Effect " as " a moving tale of one woman's struggle to

understand why. "