Re: clustered’ Brick township and Toms river

[Guest guest]

After watching and reading about Brockovich I found this , but I did

not realize Tom River was so near to the " Brick Township Autism Cluster " .

very interesting. kelly

> Nightline

Monday, Mar. 15, 1999

>

E-mail on Monday, Mar. 15, 1999 broadcast

C O M M E N T : “I saw your show tonight concerning the women of Brick

Township, N.J., and the perceived ‘,children. Knowing a little about the

Jersey shore, the question which immediately entered my mind was the

proximity to Toms River, N.J., which has made the news recently as a

cluster location of childhood cancer. I’m probably not the only one to jump

to this conclusion, but I would lean toward the environmental, not genetic

problems.â€

— Viewer Mike Parcheta

R E S P O N S E : There are, at least on the surface, some striking

similarities between the Tom’s River, N.J. cancer cluster and the Brick

Township, N.J. autism cluster. The two towns are within miles of one another,

and these “clusters†are affecting primarily children.

That said, too much remains unknown about each disease to make a link

between them. Medical science has been unable to determine the cause of many

forms of cancer, and has been completely unable to determine the cause of

autism. Without first knowing what causes those diseases, it is impossible to

determine whether a link exists. New Jersey Representative Rick and

Washington Senator Slade Gorton have recently lobbied successfully for

increased autism research funding.

Is the environment a factor in these two clusters? Possibly. But too much

remains unknown to form an educated conclusion.

— Brad

For more information on autism, contact …

Autism Society of America

7910 Woodmont Avenue

Suite 300

Bethesda, MD 20814-3015 Phone: (800) 3AU-TISM

or Fax: http://www.autism-society.org/http://www.autism-society.org

Your e-mail may be answered in a future “Feedback Loop.†You can send your

questions or comments to Niteline@...Niteline@...

By Buck Wolf

>

T O M S R I V E R, N. J. — When you meet Jan Schlichtmann now, you don’t

think Travolta.

The 47-year-old environmental attorney bears little resemblance to the

man Travolta portrays in the movie A Civil Action. The black Porsche, the

$1,000 designer suits and the courtroom bravado are all gone. He still fights

pollution. But if he has his way, his future cases won’t make good theater —

they won’t even reach trial.

These days, Schlichtmann says the six-year legal battle of the people of

Woburn, Mass., wasted time and money — and a lot of it could have been

avoided.

“Woburn was a war,†Schlichtmann says, recalling the courtroom showdown

between families ravaged by cancer and companies accused of polluting the

town’s drinking water. “I’m proud to be a veteran of that war, but wars

are

wasteful.†Life Without a Courtroom Showdown

Now Schlichtmann champions a new approach — mediation. He’s currently

representing 60 families in Toms River, N.J., who believe two companies —

Union Carbide and Ciba Geigy — contaminated the drinking water with

industrial solvents, causing a cluster of cancer cases. The companies deny

any negligence.

About 65 miles south of New York, the Toms River area is the gateway to

the Jersey Shore. (ABCNEWS.com/Magellan Geographix)

But unlike Woburn, the families are not suing.

Instead, Toms River families have established links with state and

federal authorities, and entered into an agreement with the companies to

conduct tests and share information.

In the Toms River area, officials have identified 90 children with

cancer between 1979 and 1995, in a population that statistically should have

had only 67.

Now each side, in cooperation with various regulators, will look to each

other — rather than jurors — for a resolution.

The results of recent tests will be sent for review to the EPA and New

Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Health. A

final report is scheduled to be published in the middle of 1999.

“This may tell us if we should go on with further tests,†said

Gorham, project manager for the EPA

The companies have collected data and are sharing their results with

scientists representing the community. “We are participating,†says Donna

Jakubowski, director of external affairs for Ciba. “We thus far see no

evidence that the ground water caused the childhood cancers.†Victory, But at

What Cost?

Lawyers call this “alternative dispute resolution.†Of course, this

self-imposed litigation moratorium could break down if one side loses faith.

But it offers the possibility of avoiding an expensive all-or-nothing lawsuit

that could tear Toms River apart.

“Mediation is about the long slow process of developing trust.

Eventually, you come to see your enemy in a different way,†Schlichtmann

says. “In Toms River, however, we are still at the early stages.†The

lessons of Woburn still smart. Despite all Schlichtmann’s efforts, he never

won the big settlement he had hoped for — or the apology his clients

demanded. It took years before the Environmental Protection Agency filed its

own lawsuits against W.R. Grace and Beatrice Foods.

The two companies ended up paying nearly $70 million for cleanup — the

biggest such effort ever in New England. Vindication came, but the struggle

devastated Woburn and left Schlichtmann bankrupt.

In Toms River, folks are hoping for the positive results, but without

the acrimony. “Nobody wants to drive jobs out of town. Most people don’t

want to leave. We just want these companies to be responsible,†says Lori

Cardini, whose 11-year-old daughter has leukemia. “And we want the place

cleaned up.â€

“The main message is that there are toxic towns like these all across

America,†Schlichtmann says. “We must clean them up immediately. ation

is the sanest, fastest way.â€

Schlichtmann’s gentler approach worked in Groton, another small

Massachusetts town, where residents said their drinking water contained the

same industrial solvents found in Woburn.

The community, along with state and local regulators, negotiated a

resolution in the mid-1990s with two companies, FL Aerospace and INSCO, that

called for a cleanup fund and reimbursement for a new water supply.

Schlichtmann considers Woburn the defining moment in his life. He still

faces a creditor’s lawsuit from his bankruptcy. Yet he believes the suit

ultimately made him stronger.

“I realize now … there are more sustaining victories,†he says.

“The

greatest victories are those that can be shared with everyone.â€

Schlichtman only became involved in this case after a Toms River woman

read A Civil Action several months back. Now, he’s hoping this saga has a

happier ending. >