Concern is growing in Ladera Ranch over a string of children who have been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and whether there could be an environmental link in the affluent bedroom community.<\/p>\n
As many as nine kids have been diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma since 2007 in the south Orange County community, according to Jackie French, a Ladera Ranch mother and advocate. This includes 17-year-old Brody Matteson, who died in March nearly two years after his diagnosis. Ewing sarcoma is diagnosed in only about 200 children per year.<\/a><\/p>\n On Thursday, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli called on the Environmental Protection Agency to investigate environmental concerns in Ladera Ranch, an unincorporated area with a population of roughly 26,000.<\/p>\n \u201cMy office has been made aware of recent reports of multiple pediatric Ewing sarcoma cases within the Ladera Ranch community,\u201d Essayli wrote in a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. \u201cResidents are raising concerns about a potential cancer cluster and whether environmental factors may warrant further evaluation.\u201d<\/p>\n The OC Health Care Agency said it is conducting its own review of cancer data along with representatives from the California Cancer Registry, the UC Irvine cancer center and the Orange County Agricultural Commissioner\u2019s Office. In an emailed statement, a spokesperson said, \u201cFindings will be shared in upcoming weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n State Sen. Catherine Blakespear, who represents south Orange County, called the cancer cases \u201cdeeply concerning\u201d and promised that as chair of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, she would \u201cstay personally engaged\u201d until the community has answers.<\/p>\n Pesticide concerns<\/p>\n Some residents have blamed pesticide use, though evidence is needed to establish a link. According to the American Cancer Society, there are no known environmental causes that lead to Ewing sarcoma, but studies<\/a> have linked childhood cancers<\/a> to environmental contaminants.<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s very difficult to prove causation in cancer research, said Bruce Blumberg, a UC Irvine professor in the departments of Developmental Biology and Cell Biology and a scientific adviser for the advocacy group Non-Toxic Neighborhoods. But he said the benefits of being cautious with pesticides outweigh the costs.<\/p>\n \u201cIt just doesn\u2019t make any sense to use lots of toxic chemicals to get rid of weeds and ants \u2014 these are not public health problems,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s like setting off nuclear warheads to cure an invasion of rabbits.\u201d<\/p>\n A Change.org petition<\/a> with more than 3,800 signatures is calling on the Ladera Ranch Maintenance Corp., or LARMAC, to suspend the spray of pesticides, particularly Lifeline, an herbicide with the active ingredient glufosinate-ammonium, which is banned in Europe.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe cost of being wrong about suspending pesticides is weeds,\u201d the petition reads. \u201cThe cost of being wrong about continuing them is our children\u2019s health.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement, LARMAC said its Board of Directors has instituted a 60-day pause on routine use of \u201ccertain landscape maintenance products\u201d that target weeds and other plants. This does not include rodent control or invasive pest response, the statement clarified. The Board of Directors also has established an ad hoc advisory committee made up of homeowners and board members, who will review the current pest management program and develop recommendations.<\/p>\n