On December 17th, 2001, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (NJDHSS) gave a summary presentation of the “Case-Control Study of Childhood Cancers in Dover Township (Ocean County) New Jersey.” The report completed the study of possible risk factors for childhood cancers in Dover Township. The study, involving air, water and soil, cost more than $10 million and took six years to complete. The study is considered to be ground breaking in terms of its depth and scope.

The history of the contamination situation in regards to the public water supply in Toms River was that an independent trucker illegally disposed of 4,500 drums of hazardous waste from a Union Carbide Corp. plastics plant in Bound Brook in 1971. Contamination eventually reached the Parkway Well Field from which drinking water was drawn.

The draft report, which will be finalized in February, 2002, concluded the following:

REPORT CONCLUSIONS
• No single factor evaluated appears to be solely responsible for elevation in childhood cancer
• No environmental risk factors were associated with brain and central nervous system cancer
• Findings support the theory that prenatal exposure to Parkway well water (1982-1996) was a risk factor for leukemia in female children
• Findings support the theory that prenatal exposure to Ciba-Geigy air emissions was a risk factor for leukemia in female children

REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS
• NJDHSS should continue tracking of childhood cancer in Dover Township
• Efforts should be continued to reduce or interrupt environmental exposures
• ATSDR and NJDHSS should continue educational efforts on cancer and environmental health

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United Water Resources