Company defends sludge blamed for cancer in Mo.

[devilgrrl]

Source: Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A company whose factory in northwest Missouri gave farmers fertilizer that critics say contained a cancer-causing chemical disputed the claims Thursday and defended its environmental record.

Prime Tanning Corp., of Hartland, Maine, issued a statement in response to a lawsuit filed Wednesday accusing it of knowingly distributing sludge containing hexavalent chromium as free fertilizer to farmers in four counties. The metal, also known as chromium 6, is a known carcinogen.

The company's St. Joseph plant was purchased this year by National Beef Leathers, a subsidiary of Kansas City-based National Beef Packing Co. that also was named in the lawsuit. On Thursday, National Beef Leathers said it would stop distributing the sludge while it conducts its own investigation.

Environmental activist Erin Brockovich told a crowd in Cameron on Wednesday night that hexavalent chromium may be linked to what some area residents believe is a high number of brain tumors in the region.

State and federal agencies have tested several areas in and around Cameron in the last year in response to concerns about brain tumors, but not for chromium 6. The lawsuit and Brockovich's meeting were the first time hexavalent chromium in fertilizer had been publicly identified as a possible cause.

"Based on our preliminary investigation, we believe there is no basis for the claims made in the litigation," said Grover Elliott, vice president and chief financial officer of Prime Tanning Co. "We look forward to cooperating fully with state and federal agencies in their review and investigation."

The lawsuit, filed by two northwest Missouri residents, accuses Prime Tanning of not telling the state that the sludge left over from tanning processes at the plant contained hexavalent chromium. Prime Tanning's statement does not address that allegation, and the company said it would answer no other questions.

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/d6abay

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:grr:

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. One of the people who filed that lawsuit is a man whose wife died and left small children

This is just a horrific story. At least they finally isolated the cause of the cancer.

[imdjh]

2. You got that from this article?

Environmental activist Erin Brockovich told a crowd in Cameron on Wednesday night that hexavalent chromium may be linked to what some area residents believe is a high number of brain tumors in the region.


i see this and I see weasel words. Either there is or isn't a high numbers (incidence) of brain tumors in the region. What "some residents believe" is irrelevant.

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. I live in the area and have been following the story

There are definitely a high number of brain tumors in the region. That is bad wording in that article.

[naaman fletcher]

4. Do you have a link?

1. How do you know there are a high number of brain tumors?
2. How do you know they are "caused" by anything? If the incidence of brain tumors were normally distributed, you would see some cities/towns have a high incidence of them just by pure luck.

[Tempest]

6. Do you have an aversion to doing your own research?

http://www.dhss.mo.gov/CancerInquiry/CBCI.html

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. Like I said it has been all over the local news for a couple years now.

Google 'Cameron, MO brain tumors'.

[Tempest]

5. A little research of your own goes a long way

More than a dozen brain tumors have been diagnosed in seven months in the town of Cameron, KMBC's Kelly Eckerman reported.

It did not take long for word to spread in the town of 6,500.

http://www.kmbc.com/health/16330197/detail.html


A dozen tumors in seven months is one hell of a nasty cluster.