Our Environment: 42 disease clusters in 13 U.S. states

Cleaning up our environment is not only related to climate change, it means cleaning up the damage done, and in many cases known to be damaging by the businesses and corporations who caused it, all around us, especially that which kills over time, shorter times!

Mar 28, 2011 - 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.

"Communities all around the country struggle with unexplained epidemics of cancers, birth defects and neurological diseases," report co-author Gina Solomon, a senior scientist at the Naural Resources Defense Council, said in announcing the findings. "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."

On Tuesday, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has scheduled an oversight hearing on the issue. Among those testifying, aside from Solomon, are Trevor Schaefer, a 21-year old survivor of brain cancer from Boise, and Erin Brockovich, who became a household name when her fight to document a disease cluster in Hinkley, Calif., was turned into an eponymous movie starring Julia Roberts.

Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, proposed legislation in January to fund research that would determine whether a connection exists between clusters of cancer, birth defects and other diseases and environmental contaminants. {continued}

Our Environment: 42 disease clusters in 13 U.S. states