After 4 children in Waycross, Georgia developed cancer within a 60-day period in 2015, people want to know if decades of pollution and toxic waste dumping is responsible.
What You Can Do & How We Can Help
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting toxic chemical induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been diagnosed with cancer, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Toxic Chemical Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
What is the problem?
The town of Waycross, Georgia has a population of about 15,000 people. In the middle of town is the Rice Yard complex, a toxic pollution site that is now owned by CSX Transportation railroad.
In 1985, the state of Georgia ordered land-owners to clean up the site after they found hazardous chemicals like solvents being poured down the drains and paint strippers buried in shallow pits.
CSX Transportation has been monitoring the site since the early 1990s. Today, there are rusty metal pipes sticking up out of the ground to monitor the migration of the toxic chemical “plume” underground.
How Does Pollution Get Underground?
Unfortunately, the Rice Yard complex is enormous. It spreads out for 755 acres and is surrounded by streams that could carry toxic pollutants even farther away. Another concern is old wells that were not properly sealed after they were abandoned, providing an easy way for toxins to migrate deep underground and into the water system.
Toxic Waste Dumping Near Neighborhoods
In recent years, inspectors have also seen workers dumping toxic waste near the neighborhoods where children have recently been diagnosed with rare types of cancer. The inspectors tested the toxic waste and found high levels of cancer-causing trichloroethylene (TCE), and methylene chloride, a paint stripper that causes cancer.
Outbreak of Cancer in Children of Waycross
Experts became alarmed after 4 children in the Waycross area were all diagnosed with extremely rare types of cancer within a 60-day period in 2015. Three children were diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer that usually starts in soft tissues. One child was diagnosed with a related cancer called Ewing’s sarcoma, which starts in bones or soft tissues touching the bones.
Health Officials Refuse to Call it a “Cluster”
The Georgia Department of Public Health refuses to call the outbreak a “cluster.” Two children live in the town of Waycross and drank the city’s water, while 2 live in nearby communities and drank from wells. Officials say the cancers have no known link to environmental toxins.
City Says Water is Clean — With Little Evidence
The city of Waycross insists that the water is clean, but there is little data to back up their claims. Tests have been inconsistent and the town has been even more inconsistent about closing old wells. The wells may allow chemicals at the surface to get into the water supply.
Cancer Outbreaks is Extremely Unusual
There is no denying the fact that the cancer outbreak is extremely unusual. In the United States, there are only about 350 cases of rhabdomyosarcoma and 250 cases of Ewing’s sarcoma per year.
How Can a Lawyer Help?
Some of the families of children with cancer in Waycross are asking lawyers to investigate and potentially file a lawsuit or a class action on their behalf. The work has just begun. Toxicologists are now doing testing around the homes of children in Waycross with cancer.
Do I have a Toxic Chemical Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting toxic chemical induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been diagnosed with cancer, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Toxic Chemical Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
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