Erin Brockovich continues the fight against disease clusters that tend to “mysteriously” pop up across the country and plague groups of residents with ailments that are complicated and many times unexplainable. At least 42 disease clusters have occurred in 13 U.S. states since 1976, according to a report Monday by environmentalists calling for further study of the cause of these health problems.

Testifying this week, Erin Brockovich, who became a household name when her fight to document a disease cluster in Hinkley, California, will speak to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee at an oversight hearing on these continuing issues.

For example, birth defects in Kettleman City, California, including twenty babies born over less than two years with birth defects, and four children born with birth defects so severe that they have since died, in this town of only 1,500 people.

In Brockovich’s case, residents won a $333 million settlement from Pacific Gas & Electric in 1996 when the company’s ponds leached hexavalent into the town’s drinking water supply. They reported breast cancer, Hodgkin’s disease, miscarriages and spinal deterioration, but three studies from the California Cancer Registry have concluded that cancer rates were not elevated there from 1988 to 2008. Other state officials say the population is too small for a cancer survey to yield meaningful results.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) popped up in Wellington, Ohio, where residents are three-times more likely to develop MS than in the rest of the country, a disease whose causes are unknown but are thought to involve a combination of genetic and environmental causes.

Birth defects in Dickson, Tennessee, a striking cluster that was identified by a non-profit organization called Birth Defect Research for Children, created by the mother of a child with birth defects, which gathers information about birth defects nationally, links families, and works with scientists to identify patterns that require investigation.

Male breast cancer, childhood cancer, and birth defects in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. More than 60 men who lived on that base have been diagnosed with male breast cancer, an extraordinary and alarming finding which is almost impossible to occur by chance alone, and one which deserves urgent attention according to the National Disease Clusters Alliance (NDCA).

Gina Solomon, a senior scientist at the National Resources Defense Council states:

“Communities all around the country struggle with unexplained epidemics of cancers, birth defects and neurological diseases. The faster we can identify such clusters, and the sooner we can figure out the causes, the better we can protect residents living in the affected communities.”

According to the NDCA, Congress’ Toxic Substance Control Act of 1976 has not studied that nexus or done enough to regulate toxic chemicals in industrial, commercial and consumer products. The Act mandated the Environmental Protection Agency to protect the public from “unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment” by regulating the manufacture and sale of chemicals. This Act does not address wastes produced as byproduct of manufacturing, as did the Clean Water and Air Acts of the era. Instead, this Act attempted to exert direct government control over which types of chemicals could and could not be used in actual use and production.

For example, the use of chlorofluorocarbons in manufacturing is now strictly prohibited in all manufacturing processes in the United States, even if no chlorofluorocarbons are released into the atmosphere as a result. Testifying this week, Erin Brockovich, who became a household name when her fight to document a disease cluster in Hinkley, Calif., will speak to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee at an oversight hearing on these continuing issues.

Solomon continues:

“These examples are just the tip of the iceberg. In the states we haven’t studied yet, we have already heard of dozens more disease clusters, so the problem is widespread.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define a cluster investigation as, “a review of an unusual number, real or perceived, of health events (for example, reports of cancer) grouped together in time and location.” Cluster investigations seek to confirm cases of the disease; establish whether the reported cases represent an unusually high occurrence of the disease; and explore potential causes when possible.

Sources: U.S. Senate Committee on Enviornment and Public Works, The National Disease Clusters Alliance and The National Resources Defense Council

Written by Sy Kraft, B.A.