Erin Brockovich, best known for her role in the investigation of the prevalence of cancer cases in Hinkley, CA in the 90s, urged Senators Tuesday to pass a law requiring documentation of disease clusters. Brockovich told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that thousands of Americans contact her every month, asking for help and telling her about unexplained illnesses in their community. Brockovich put together a map of the U.S. and Canada, plotting the calls shes received - some from almost every U.S. state and several from Canadian provinces. Brockovich considers herself an informal reporting agency for those who worry that something in their immediate environment is a health hazard. According to the National Cancer Institute, a disease cluster is an unusually high occurrence of cases of a particular disease within a group of people, geographic location or period of time. Data compiled by health advocates and environmentalists from the National Disease Clusters Alliance and the Natural Resources Defense Council showed an occurrence of 42 disease clusters in 13 states since 1976. These disease clusters included several types of cancers, birth defects, Lou Gehrigs disease and other chronic illnesses. Disease clusters have been found in Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas.
Gina Solomon, senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the sooner these clusters and their causes are identified, the better residents living in affected communities can be protected.Data from the report also included the Hinkley, CA case involving Brockovich, who called attention to the release of hexavalent chromium into the towns drinking water, causing cases of breast cancer, miscarriages, spinal deterioration and Hodgkins disease.The case caused such as stir that it spawned a movie starring Julia Roberts as Brockovich. In the Hinkley case, 660 residents sued Pacific Gas & Electric for damages, resulting in a $333 million settlement.
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