Feds asked to investigate reports of cancer cluster in Florida community

June 25, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Reports of children turning up with brain tumors in a small part of South Florida spurred U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson today to call for an immediate federal investigation.

Nelson sent a letter this morning to the Obama administration requesting an investigation of reports about a cancer cluster in a small community in Palm Beach County.  In his letter to the heads of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Nelson requested they coordinate with Florida’s health agency to look into any possible causes.

“The residents there are calling for an aggressive investigation,” Nelson wrote.  “If one of us was living through the agony of seeing our child suffer from a brain tumor, we’d be doing likewise. That’s why I implore your agencies to investigate.”

At least seven mothers who live in very close proximity to each other in a Palm Beach County community have children who have developed brain tumors, according to recent published and broadcast accounts.  They live in houses reportedly fed by well water.  Approximately 60,000 people live in the community called The Acreage.  The Acreage is located east of Lake Okeechobee and just north of Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. 

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