Why so many kids with brain tumors in Hackettstown
On another post it says 4200 kids a year in the us are diagnosed with brain/spinal cancerous rumors. I know of 3 kids in our area in the last year and half. Is that statistically high?
Jc I wonder the same about MS, seems to be abundant in the area. Wish someone would do detailed "occurrence mapping" on a county level per state. I can find US maps, world maps, but never below state level in the US.
mistergoogle Define "in our area" and it's easy to figure out what the expected diagnosis rate would be based on the population.
If you're talking about Hackettstown only (population ~9,600) one would expect 0.126 brain tumor diagnoses per year.
If you're talking about Warren County (population ~107,000) one would expect 1.4 brain tumor diagnoses per year.
If you start to include more populous towns in nearby Morris County, then having 3 patients in less than two years is probably on the low side. Of course, as mistergoogle alludes to, there could be local environmental factors (chemicals, etc.) in addition to just averaging the risk over population density only.
Mark Mc. 
Cat Owner 
CraftBeerBob I heard the higher rate of Autism in NJ is because NJ has the best services-so more people move here and, therefore, when they do a census, NJ comes out higher
AB14 I work for a school district at night, and in my school there are numerous families that moved here due to services. Many from PA. So for the autism statistics, claims of people moving here for better services are right on the money
Penningslandscaping Mark is very right about the number of cases is very dependent on the exact area involved. 2010 Hackettstown only pop was over 9700 and if you include the Mt Olive, Washington Tsp, Allamuchy, Independence, and Mansfield as "our area" it goes up to 74,000 where you would expect at least 6 cases in 18 months.
However the additional question if it is significant relies on the statistical standard deviation. There is a registry of brain & CNS cancer that has the 4300 children number but it does not quote the standard deviation. When you talk numbers where the incidence is between 5 and 6 per 100,000 the standard deviation is likely to be fairly high. It would not be surprising for a low population (n=3) not to be outside that standard deviation. In other words, it's not likely to be very significant even if it turns out to be a bit on the high side.
It really needs more info to give a good answer. But on the surface at least it does not look all that worrisome.
GC 
Booster90 Booster... that's a huge argument waiting to happen. I wouldn't go there. Everyone in the USA gets vaccines.
And besides, most likely the reason why the USA as a whole has the highest overall cancer rates is that the USA eats the most processed foods. Sure that has something to do with this.
checkonetwo 
botheredbyuu2 checkonetwo - You don't understand, an argument as internet entertainment is exactly why it was mentioned. ;-)
That's true....the idiots out there that would like to see children dying of measles or being paralyzed by polio tend to not have their children immunized.
Bemused 
darwin Statistics is the name of the game - they show that while they MAY cause problems in people when getting the vaccines, the risk is much lower to get a disorder (when vaccinated) than to get a deadly disease if you're not vaccinated.
Booster is entitled to his or her own opinion. Even if it is wrong, has no factual basis and actually hurts kids.
btownguy The cancer rate is very high in this area. Ask anyone who works at HRMC. In my grandmas day they died from old age, heart disease, all the regular stuff. In the past 30 yrs. in this town it's colon, breast, bone cancers, just to name a few. Although I agree with the processed food, I personally think it comes from the water and all the chemical plants that were here at one time. Ask anybody who lives in Diamond Hill, off Asbury Rd., in the Pine St. area, Newburg Rd., up by the college. I remember very well when one of the first children got cancer in Hackettstown. It was about 35 yrs. ago. Survival rate back then was pretty much zero. Cancer today is still a death sentence, but the survival rate is better. Thank you God and thank you medical science. Cancer is the only thing I have a true hatred for.
auntiel I think it's not the high tension power wires as much as it is the transformers. Electrical energy running down a wire does not change the Electromagnetic Field (EMF) that much, but when you "transform" energy, the level of EMF and RF change a lot.
There are a lot of people who fear high EMF, myself included, but transformers can be found lots of places, including that little green box on the corner, those "cans" hanging on the poles, etc. Even the cans can be detected at ground level.
Old transformers have PCB's - that's what you want to be worried about when it comes to cancer. EMF will just make you temporarily screwy. ;-)
It's also not right to think that cancer is a death sentence today. Dozens of types are entirely treatable and people live otherwise long lives. Mario Lemieux has lived over 20 cancer free years and looks to live another 40 after that. He's not unusual. The cancer rate has increased in the past 30 years because our life expectancy has increased in the last 30 years. It's an old person's disease and we're getting older as a nation. There are also kinds of cancer where it takes you within 18 months like happened to my neighbor. It's not right to group them all together.
Please Gc read my words again. I am sorry I was not clear enough for you to understand. When people hear the word cancer the first thing that comes out of their mouth is "Am I going to die" or "Can I be cured" or "How long do I have to live", "Is this treatable" etc., all of which is a natural human emotion. That's what I meant when I called it a death sentence. Yes we live longer. And yes because of modern medicine this terrible disease is curable in some cases, but not all. That child I was talking about 35 yrs. ago, had at the time, a 25% survivable rate. Today she is married and a grandmother of three. Today that same disease is 99.9% curable in most cases. Certain types of cancer are still a death sentence whether we like it or not. I refuse to sugar coat it. Sorry.
Was CleanHaving an incinerator 12 miles away spewing out dioxin's and and heavy metals doesn't help.
Denis If you ask people whether cancer rates are "high" in their area, it is likely that they will say "yes" if they know people with cancer - whose incidence increases with age. This is why scientific studies are valuable/necessary - it is not based upon someone's opinion or personal experience, but on an objective study.
GC - excellent point - re SD
pmnsk The more I learn about food, the more I believe (yes opinion) that it's how we eat that is the biggest contributing factor of many diseases --- just like computers - 'garbage in, garbage out' - The human body is a miraculous engine - if you give it the right fuel, it will work beautifully (for the most part).
trekster3- Couldn't agree more trickster. Start reading the labels at the Piggly Wiggly and you will be amazed at what we are eating. I try to buy organic or whole foods. And if it says corn syrup or hydrogenated oil I wont buy it. For an example read the contents of any Entenmanns cake or doughnuts.
Maybe you are just more aware of these issues.
When I was a kid I don't remember kids dying from peanuts either.
Does this mean that because of the chemicals in the world kids are allergic to peanuts now?
Pray for the families and support them in any way you are able. It means a lot to them even if they are to busy fighting the storm to thank you.
Donna Walling I am not sure EMF will just make you temporarily screwy. There's a lot of debate and a lot of lobbying against the effects by those in power who would suffer if we needed to remedy living in close quarters to EMF.
Yeah, on this one I feel like I need to remove the tin foil hat but the body is an electro-chemical organism or bioelectric and messing with the electronics does not sound good to me, never has. Clusters of Leukemia associated in EMF zones is where I first learned about it and looked compelling enough to avoid whenever possible. http://www.safespaceprotection.com/harmful-effects-electromagnetic-fields.aspx
Amazingly when I did my own testing, it was like Mom said. Stay three feet from the TV, but probably six feet from the back which means on the old CRT monitors, you were probably fine but the cubicle behind the screen was getting death rays...... Electric razors were very high, but short duration, hair dryers not so bad. LEDs displays off the wall, have not tested by LED TVs. Main power feed to house OK unless you press your face to the wall the line runs down.
Like I said, I went a little tin foil hat on this one but thought it best to test when the kids were born since really didn't want them growing up with it. Probably not so serious for us older types.
CDC says not to worry, no definitive proof, but better to minimize; I still say there's lots of lobbying to make that statement true and lots of money to be lost if it is not. Like I said, when I can detect a transformer can on a pole from the street, somehow having one right next to my house sounds less beneficial than not having one. And if I had one of those ground level transformer boxes nearby, I would get an EMF meter, especially if my family room or kids bedroom was on that wall of the house.
Many people don't realize but we live in the area where radon level in houses is very high. http://www.epa.gov/radiation/radionuclides/radon.html
Do you have granite countertops in the kitchen? Read this - http://www.epa.gov/radiation/tenorm/granite-countertops.html
Constant exposure to low level of radiation causes big impact on health and increases the possibility of cancer development.
Lena We tested for EMF around the house just out of curiosity. One of the highest readings within the normal use distance? The alarm clock on my husband's nightstand. Surprising since Mom never told us to stay back from the alarm clock. :-)
Aquarius Search: "A company called Area Lighting"
on Hackettstown Life...
If you think 20+ years of dumping Toxic Chemicals on top of a mountain, Won't leach into your drinking water.... Think Again...
IT TAKES YEARS FOR THE CANCER TO SHOW UP...!
Google : Area Lighting Research
http://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases07/NRD-lawsuits-07/Area-Lighting-Complaint.pdf
This location is not much more than a 1/2 mile from a Town Water Source.
Bob Trinneer Aquarius: Yeah, that kind of surprised me that any LED display really emits EMF. However, distance mutes the effect rapidly so just move the clock out of "slumber button" distance and you'll be fine. Might be a win-win.
Lena, I wen through my Radon period too and had a meter than updated every 30 minutes or so which showed me that Radon is actually seasonal as well. What it allowed me to see was Radon obviously is worse in the Winter than Summer depending on windows and doors being open, that's a no duh. But it is also worse at night than in the morning and the big one: much worse in low pressure than in high pressure.
So if you think about Winter with many low pressure systems rolling through, windows closed, etc. you can see how that's the worst time of year for Radon.
OK, I'll take my tin foil hat off again...... It was just during the dot.com years, with babies around found myself buying stuff I didn't need and went through a meter and monitor period. I miss that Radon meter though, it was kind of fun.
MG - I have permanent electronic radon meter in my basement that monitors current and long term levels. When weather is dry, I always keep basement windows open. I also like fresh air so we keep windows open as much as we can. My DH is a cancer survivor so I prefer to know the danger and eliminate it than assume that bad things can happened only to someone else. We freely lend our meter to friends and family and they are always very surprised by readings.
My SIL had her granite countertops replaced because of high level of radiation. It was free for her because house was newly built and under builders warranty.
Maybe from the plastic water bottles. If they get hot or cold (in car) the plastic's chemicals (that cause cancer) can leech into the h20, as the temperatures fluctuate.
Lili Chemicals= elements. When they become a compound (most if not all?) are no longer radioactive and become very useful.
I'd be more concerned with the drinking water from the tap and the hot water tank.
I'm no expert... I'm sure someone will come on here and correct me if I'm wrong.
positive I agree with positive< Tap water. I have always believed H-towns water causes cancer. The amount of people who I have known during my lifetime living in H-town (all of my life) who have died of cancer (all types) living in H-town is maybe 8 out of 10. I have never drank the tap water. I went from well water, moved and then had to purchase town water. Took one smell and decided it wasn't for me. I even hate to bathe with it, no choice with that. Skin cancer could be the result. Scary.
Wasn't there something in the news not that long ago about the chemical plant on the Delaware in Pa, affecting children in Warren Cty??
Maybe someone can post it. I don't know how with this phone.
Auntiel, Basal cell, squamous cell carcinoma and Melanoma are known to have cumulative affects from exposure to the sun for long periods and it doesn't help if you have low pigmentation. However even people that have more pigment are still at risk.
I didn't read nor did I hear anything about getting skin cancer from showering.
BBU, I always wondered about that plant and it's pretty close to me. Have to look into it.
BBY, are you thinking of the power plant on the river? It is believed to be a reason for the high asthma rate in the area.
maja2 I just found the coolest map with all the info on these plants.
PA -- in that area there's actually two plants, both running natural gas. I would hope that ends the asthma issue, if there was one. Combined they can put out 2,300MWs.
There's also about 11MW of solar nearby in three or four plants on the river. The solar plant in Washington is about 5MWs just to give you an idea of what it takes solar-wise to get ot 2,300MWs ---- a real lot of space.
MM has a natural gas plant with 10MWs capacity. Cool, bet you didn't know that.
Hey all you Trumpers, still wanna bring back coal? You can have 10MWs right in your back yard!
strangerdanger Articles referencing Martin's Creek coal power plant and the huge dangers associated living near it:
http://archive.northjersey.com/story-archives/environmental-threat-among-us-1.1164096
https://www.google.com/amp/www.mcall.com/business/mc-talen-settlement-martins-creek-plant-20160504-story,amp.html
https://www.facingsouth.org/2010/05/coals-dirty-secret.html
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/21812-coal-ash-the-dan-river-spill-and-the-power-industrys-toxic-legacy
Safe water is a huge concern. What can we do to protect ourselves and our environment? Reverse osmosis water filters?
Jules Come on Jules ---- I just told you the plants, and there are two of them, are gas not coal. Your articles, while nice to support ant-trumpets claims that coal sucks and so so Trump, are from 2011 unless from North Carolina in 2014..... The only coal issue with the Martin's Creek plants would be residual from the time they last used it.
Water --- many fridge filters are pretty darned good now although might be close to $100 a pop. Reverse osmosis is certainly better.
Again from my gauge days, I run my water through a sediment filter first and then through a series of filters coming in right below what reverse osmosis would give me. But my water is pristine to start with... If I was on H-town supply, and I could be, I would reverse osmosis unless...... does reverse osmosis get rid of the chlorine smell and taste?
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