October 14, 2007 - FOR MORE than 20 years, health officials have known about a puzzling concentration of the neurodegenerative illness known as Lou Gehrig's disease in the southeastern Massachusetts town of Middleborough. In the coming months, a study financed by the federal government and conducted by state environmental health scientists might answer the riddle of whether toxic waste from two Superfund sites in the town has caused the rare and usually fatal disease, which normally strikes just two of 100,000 people.
The state is also working to create a registry to keep track of the disease. In collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Environmental Health Tracking Program, such registries can build up the databases that researchers need to track diseases with suspected environmental causes. Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton of New York and Republican Orrin Hatch of Utah have called for a $100 million increase in the CDC program's budget to help the tracking program establish itself nationwide. Congress should approve the funding.
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Water Contamination, Land Pollution & Hazardous Waste Material are issues families all across America are afflicted with daily.
1 comment:
I think it's great that you have this Blog, it could help a lot of people out there!
I am part of a committee in the town of Middleborough, MA that is trying to get the word out to people that may have lived in this town at one point that now lives with this disease. Years ago there were several manufacturers using chemicals along a two mile stretch of railroad tracks that we believe may link the two together. The companies that used to exist along the tracks used dyes for shoe making and other chemicals used in electroplating and foundries. Over the past few decades there have been an enormous (27) amount of people who have passed away from ALS and we believe this is more than a coincidence. There are also high levels of MS and Cancer along the same path where the town has several streams and drinking wells. We are starting to get national attention and a lot of studies have been done but we need more information to link the diseases together so maybe someday there will be a cure.
If anyone reading this Blog knows somebody who lived in the town of Middleborough or worked here from 1960-Today then we would like to know.
Here are some articles that appeared recently in several news groups:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/10/14/data_on_gehrigs_raise_flag/
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070830/NEWS/708300392/1010/TOWN09
http://www.rideforlife.com/archives/000906.html
Here’s one from the New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/07/us/07middle.html
Wally Glendye
waglendye@yahoo.com
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