Published in the Asbury Park Press
By PATRICIA A. MILLER
TOMS RIVER BUREAU
TOMS RIVER -- United Water Toms River representatives will stop -- at least temporarily -- attending meetings of the Citizens Action Committee on Childhood Cancer Cluster, where they have been often unprepared for the grilling by residents.
"We've attended every meeting, met every request made, but for some time now, we found that our attendance places us in a position where we are required to respond to questions or issues we are unprepared or unable to address at a moment's notice," said company spokesman Edward A. Hughmanic in an interview yesterday.
Water utility officials have been present at the monthly meetings for the last three and a half years.
"I think it's very disappointing that the water company, which is a very integral part of this investigation, will not have technical people there," said Linda Gillick, chairwoman of the citizens committee. "To me that's a breakdown in communications. We will continue to do the meetings and they will just lose the respect of the people."
United Water has decided to hold off attending any more meetings until the results of various studies into the higher rates of some childhood cancers are completed, Hughmanic said.
"The company would be happy to ensure the attendance of an appropriate spokesperson or spokespersons if we are provided at least a week with a list of questions or issues of concerns," he said. "We are committed to going the extra mile to cooperate with federal, state, county, local, health and elected officials, as well as our customers in a joint effort to resolve this matter."
Gillick noted that all participants in the meetings, including representatives from the state Department of Environmental Protection and the state Department of Health and Senior Services, often find themselves on the "hot seat."
"If I walked out every time I was annoyed, I would never be there," she said. "I made a commitment. The DOH and the DEP have been on the hot seat many times, but they still show up and if they don't know the answers, they tell us. No one goes into those meetings knowing what the questions are going to be. No one. Not showing up is a sign of no cooperation."
Hughmanic said the company would stay in a waiting "mode" until the studies are completed.
"We've been dealing with what's happened in the past, not what's happened recently or what's going to be happening in the future," he said.
Source: Asbury Park Press
Published: August 4, 1999
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