Published in the Ocean County Observer
By MARGARET F. BONAFIDE
Staff Writer
TOMS RIVER -- Why is there an elevated rate of childhood cancer in Dover Township?
Residents, students and officials listened carefully yesterday to updates and explanations on studies and tests involving exactly that problem.
Amid the audience at the meeting of the Citizens Action Committee Childhood Cancer Cluster were parents and grandparents of cancer survivors as well as those who weren't so fortunate.
Dr. Dorothy Canter of the federal Environmental Protection Agency gave an update on the testing methods that would be used to see what the effects styrene acrylonitrile trimer would have on a rat fetus. The trimer is a byproduct of plastics production, which has been present in the Toms River drinking water distribution system.
The study methods of the trimer were established by a special panel assembled to determine what toxic ability the trimer could have to mutate a gene.
Small amounts of the trimer have been found in wells 26, 28 and 29, all located in the United Water Toms River's parkway well field, off Dugan Lane.
Gerald P. Nicholls, director of the state Department of Environmental Protection's Division of Environmental Safety, Health and Analytical Programs, said the trimer had been found in the water before 1996, but it was a tentatively unidentified compound for which there had been no protocol and therefore one couldn't test for it.
However, Nicholls said that there are many unidentified compounds found in the water testing that has been done and that some of the compounds have been formed naturally and all the compounds that are not identified are not necessarily related to the cancer rate or to disease.
Committeeman George E. Wittmann Jr. gave a presentation to the audience as to the status of the remedial investigation of the Dover Township Municipal Landfill, which also received the same contaminated waste as the Superfund site Reich Farms. The waste at both sites was taken from the Union Carbide plant in Bound Brook.
Wittmann said that to date $917,000 has been spent on investigating the landfill and the price is split equally between the township and Union Carbide. The township's portion is picked up by the municipality's insurance, Wittmann said.
Wittmann said that the samples taken at the original 16 monitoring wells installed around the landfill -- as well as samples from the additional 14 wells installed after testing results showed that there was a need for additional wells -- would be available to both the state and federal agencies studying the cancer rates here.
Carol Benson, grandmother to Justin who died of cancer at 7 years old, pleaded with officials to see that there is an awareness raised among pediatricians that will help prevent cancer from being diagnosed incorrectly and causing undue suffering among the children.
Linda Gillick, chairwoman of the citizen's group, assured Benson that there are already measures beginning with Community Medical Center and its staff for ongoing educational measures to make sure that doctors are more aware and trained to higher levels to detect cancer among children.
Published on September 19, 2000
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