Cancer cluster among children in Toms River? When did this b

amother

Tue, Oct 10 2023, 1:00 pm

Cancer cluster among children in Toms River? When did this become known?

Starting in the 1950s, Ciba-Geigy Chemical Corp., the town's largest employer, had been flushing chemicals into the Toms River and the Atlantic Ocean, and burying 47,000 drums of toxic waste in the ground. This created a plume of polluted water that has spread beyond the site into residential neighborhoods.

In hindsight, it's clear that something was very wrong in this suburban town at the Jersey Shore, where many people worked at or lived near a chemical company that was flushing toxic waste into waterways and burying it in the ground.

Men would come home from the plant, which made dyes and resins, and their perspiration would be the color of the dye with which they worked.

Children swam in the local river, coming up for air in the midst of milky white froth that floated on the water's surface. There seemed to be fewer fish than would be expected; some that were there appeared to be transparent, and others had sores.

And children were being diagnosed with cancer at higher-than-normal rates.

It wouldn't be until many years later that the truth would come out: Ciba-Geigy Chemical Corp., the town's largest employer, had been flushing chemicals into the Toms River and the Atlantic Ocean, and burying 47,000 drums of toxic waste in the ground. This created a plume of polluted water that has spread beyond the site into residential neighborhoods. It made the area one of America's most notorious Superfund sites, joining the list of the most seriously polluted areas in need of federally supervised cleanup.

The state health department found that 87 children in Toms River, which was then known as Dover Township, had been diagnosed with cancer from 1979 through 1995. A study determined the rates of childhood cancers and leukemia in girls in Toms River “were significantly elevated when compared to state rates.” No similar rates were found for boys.

“I have a friend that has five kids, and four out of the five have cancer,” said Gloria Baier, whose father recently died from cancer. "I swam in that water. There was this muck that was whitish and would float on top of the water. You'd pop your head up sometimes into this."

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.co.....3258/

amother

Buttercup

Tue, Oct 10 2023, 1:20 pm

It has been known for more than 20 years. I knew about it in the 1990s when I married a Lakewood guy. We used to visit Toms River and talk about how hard it was for those families to get help. They were not rich- whole kids baseball teams were sick. It was a huge fight.
I assumed people knew, and were ok with the clean-up.

amother

Tue, Oct 10 2023, 1:23 pm

amother Buttercup wrote:

And now, post-clean-up, the cancer statistics in Toms River are the same as throughout the rest of the US?

amother

Buttercup

Tue, Oct 10 2023, 1:31 pm

amother OP wrote:

And now, post-clean-up, the cancer statistics in Toms River are the same as throughout the rest of the US?

Sorry. I would ask the families who moved to Toms River over the past 10 years, or the real estate agents who sold them the houses. I'm sure that was something that the investigated before moving there with kids.

amother

Milk

Tue, Oct 10 2023, 1:32 pm

amother Buttercup wrote:

Um, wth?? I just moved to toms River with kids and no one mentioned anything to me. Why did I never hear of this??

amother

Tue, Oct 10 2023, 1:45 pm

amother Milk wrote:

Um, wth?? I just moved to toms River with kids and no one mentioned anything to me. Why did I never hear of this??

Hundreds of families moved there with kids in the last few years. Maybe if you call Dept of Health you can find out CURRENT statistics?

amother

Pumpkin

Tue, Oct 10 2023, 1:48 pm

There is a famous movie about this

amother

Lime

Tue, Oct 10 2023, 1:49 pm

amother Pumpkin wrote:

There is a famous movie about this

Erin Brockovitch? It's a similar story but not about Tom's river.

amother

Lightgreen

Tue, Oct 10 2023, 1:55 pm

There was an article about this a few years ago in one of the magazines. Supposedly it is not a threat anymore…

amother

Tue, Oct 10 2023, 2:04 pm

amother Lightgreen wrote:

Supposedly it is not a threat anymore…

I would think the local govt Dept of Health is still keeping records, after a history of problems.

Id call a frum pediatrician in the area. I cant believe they wouldnt know what the current numbers are.

amother

Oxfordblue

Tue, Oct 10 2023, 2:06 pm

It was cleaned up years ago. AFAIK it’s no longer an issue. People move to TR all the time.

amother

Oxfordblue

Tue, Oct 10 2023, 2:07 pm

amother Milk wrote:

Um, wth?? I just moved to toms River with kids and no one mentioned anything to me. Why did I never hear of this??

Because people don’t see it as a problem, so why would they think to mention it?

amother

Tue, Oct 10 2023, 2:12 pm

I am sure like the sun came out today that someone is keeping records of childhood cancers in TR.

amother

Oxfordblue

Tue, Oct 10 2023, 2:14 pm

amother OP wrote:

I am sure like the sun came out today that someone is keeping records of childhood cancers in TR.

So call the dept of health and ask.

amother

Mocha

Tue, Oct 10 2023, 6:08 pm

Same story with Staten Island by the way

Just Google it

amother

Aconite

Tue, Oct 10 2023, 6:10 pm

It was cleaned up. They constantly test the water now and it’s not an issue. There were toxins poured in for a while, that factory is closed and it was cleaned up.

amother

Peru

Tue, Oct 10 2023, 6:16 pm

amother Mocha wrote:

Same story with Staten Island by the way

Just Google it

Years ago I was looking at a house and some not so Frum person came to "talk" to me about the neighborhood.
She was telling me about the cancers
Me-I'm from Staten Island
She said a few other things to tell me why this is not a good place to raise kids.
Problem I'm from Staten Island my kids were already doomed.

She was not very happy the way the conversation was going.

amother

Lawngreen

Tue, Oct 10 2023, 6:22 pm

amother Peru wrote:

She was being genuinely caring or wanted to discourage you from moving for her own benefit?

amother

Peru

Tue, Oct 10 2023, 6:25 pm

amother Lawngreen wrote:

She was being genuinely caring or wanted to discourage you from moving for her own benefit?

It sounded like from the way she was saying it that she would really like for me to move far far away.
This was when very few Frum Jews lived in Toms River.

amother

Tue, Oct 10 2023, 8:09 pm

All along, when this was going on at the plant for years, how did all the mega wealthy Toms River residents living in mega Toms River mansions, not vote out all the politicians involved with the chemical companies?

Usually mega wealthy people have clout.

No one knew?