Crestwood, Illinois The story of a local Mom

Crestwood, Illinois Crestwood, IllinoisLocation

Crestwood  11,200 People  Mainly Polish, English, German, Irish and Italian Neighborhood  Median Village income is $45,000

Cancer Rates  Out of a population of 11,200 people, 400 become sick with some type of cancer between 1980 and  The majority of the cancers are related to the Kidney  According to the State Cancer Profile’s calculated by the organization www. cancer.gov, between 1980 to 2005 the cancer rate in Illinois was 200 cases per 10,000 people.

No Average Mom!  Tricia Krause is fighting against the town of Crestwood, claiming its water made her family ill.  The single mom of 3 has 2 kids with health problems and a small business to run.  Her son had leukemia and her daughter had a brain tumor.  Whistle Blowers Whistle Blowers Whistle Blowers

May 2009 –Update The Illinois EPA discovered that a contaminated emergency back-up water supply well was being used illegally by supplementing the treated Lake Michigan water that Crestwood provides to its residents. The Illinois EPA discovered that a contaminated emergency back-up water supply well was being used illegally by supplementing the treated Lake Michigan water that Crestwood provides to its residents.

What Happened  From 1986 to 2007, Crestwood used water from its contaminated groundwater well to supplement the Lake Michigan source water without informing the Illinois EPA or its water customers.  Since the well was not believed to be in use, no routine samples of that well were taken; federal Safe Drinking Water Act regulations do not require sampling of wells that are not in use.  In April of 1998, a consultant investigating a nearby drycleaner solvent release reported results from two samples collected from the Crestwood well.

The Concern with Dry Cleaning Solvents  They are called perchloroethylene (perc/ PCE).  People exposed to high levels of perc may experience dizziness, fatigue, headaches, confusion, nausea, and skin, lung, eye and mucous membrane irritation.  Repeated exposure to high levels can also irritate the skin, eyes, nose and mouth, and can cause liver damage and respiratory failure.

Dry Cleaning Solvents Continued  Perc has been shown to cause cancer in rats and mice when they swallow or inhale it.  As with all health effects, the potential for an increased risk of cancer depends on several factors including how much perc exposure there is, how often the exposure occurs, and how long it lasts. Also important is the way the exposure occurs, as well as the individual's overall state of health, age, lifestyle, and family traits.  In 1995, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), convened a panel of internationally regarded experts which concluded that perc is "probably carcinogenic to humans," based on limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and sufficient evidence in animals.

What exactly does this mean?  For nearly two decades, the Mayor and other village officials hid from regulators and residents the fact that they were drinking water contaminated with perc!  The Story Breaks The Story Breaks The Story Breaks

Indictments  U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said in his statement to the news media:  “The indictment alleges that for 20 years, Crestwood officials purposely hid the fact that they commingled well water with Lake Michigan water and, by doing so, avoided complying with state and federal environmental regulations. As a result, Crestwood’s water customers were exposed to well water that was not adequately tested for contamination.”  Felonies are filed Felonies are filed Felonies are filed  Civil Lawsuits are currently being filed  ALSO: it should be noted that both the US EPA and Illinois EPA agree that the levels of Perc in the water at no time was a health risk to the people drinking the water.

Ms Krause Today  Her children are now adults and living cancer free  Ms Krause now runs the Children’s Cancer Cluster Foundation  iles.cancer.gov/ iles.cancer.gov/ iles.cancer.gov/  This website is very powerful and you should check it out. You can find out an awful lot about the rates of cancer.

Cancer Clusters  A disease cluster is the occurrence of a greater than expected number of cases of a particular disease within a group of people, a geographic area, or a period of time. Breast cancer Cluster Maps

Environmental “Causes”  It is very difficult to prove that any environmental factor has played a role in cancer cluster.  The EPA and Village Officials both claim that the levels of Perc contamination were not high enough to cause an issue.  watch?v=J42CLZH1NlE watch?v=J42CLZH1NlE watch?v=J42CLZH1NlE  What do you think?

How do we make sure this never happens again  The Village of Crestwood is now very open.  Here is there Village website Village websiteVillage website  New Law New Law New Law