Pocono News Section

Federal Money To Study Cause of Cancer Cluster

Federal Money To Study Cause of Cancer Cluster - Friday, May 1, 2009 at 10:19PM EST

SUGARLOAF TOWNSHIP, LUZERNE COUNTY- Dozens of Polycythemia Vera (PV) cases have popped up in the Hometown area. The Federal Government last year called it a cancer cluster. Since 2004, the list of people has steadily grown. Thirty-three cases are being studied by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). It's believed there are more than 100 people who have the rare blood cancer. Three have died.
Senator Arlen Specter on Friday announced a boost of $5.5 million in federal funds to continue study of the cancer and what may be causing it. For many, the elephant in the room is the existence of Superfund sites long contaminated from illegal dumping. Specter sympathized with PV patients during a crowded news conference at the Penn State Hazleton campus. "It's a tragedy that you have these toxic sites and that they to the extent cause cancer and cause deaths. It's awful," Specter said.

Dr. Peter Baddick has closely monitored the presence of the cancer cluster for years. He's confident "some of the worse chemicals known to mankind" leaked out of mine shafts and contaminated ground water. It's believed that ground water infiltrated local reservoirs, leading to the elevated cancer rates. Baddick said federal and state regulators have repeatedly denied any chemicals were dumped at the McAdoo Superfund site and other sites like it in Schuylkill County. But documents surfacing since the McAdoo site was shuttered show a list of chemicals, among them Benzene, a known carcinogen. Baddick believes illegal dumping continues despite federal probes into the cancer cluster.