Published: February 10, 2010
Op-Ed Contributor
Cancer Cluster Concerns In The Acreage, Florida
By Robert Paul Reyes
"State health officials have said a lot about The Acreage in the past week.
They said they've found a cluster of childhood brain cancer in the community, a semi-rural swath filled with dirt roads and private wells.
They said they don't see any apparent cause, and that they aren't planning environmental tests to find one.
Then, after days of criticism, they said tests are on the way." PalmBeachPost.com
If health officials found a cluster of childhood brain cancer in Beverly Hills, the upscale community would be flooded with physicians, scientists and environmental specialists.
But Florida officials seem indifferent to the cancer cluster in The Acreage, a poor rural community. Residents are up-in-arms, and they are demanding that health officials investigate this peril to their community.
The media for the most part seems to be ignoring this story, thank goodness for local bloggers and activists who are keeping this issue alive.
Is it something in the water? Many residents in the Acreage have wells, but the cancer scare is motivating homeowners to demand that the government run county water lines into their community.
The cause of the high incidence of cancer in the Acreage isn't clear, but what is clear is that more money should be allocated to investigate this problem.
Follow Robert Paul Reyes on Twitter: http://twitter.com/robertpaulreyes
Robert Paul Reyes is a NewsBlaze writer on Politics, Pop Culture and Pointless Pontificating. Contact him by writing to NewsBlaze.
* The views of Opinion writers do not necessarily reflect the views of NewsBlaze
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