Whirlpool Corporation and the current and former owners of the Whirlpool Park in Clyde, Ohio, are accused of alleged PCB contamination.
A number of people who lived in and near Clyde have fallen ill and died since the mid-1990s from cancer, said NorthWestOhio.com. In one case, a man described his now-deceased wife who swam at Whirlpool Park and died at the age of 22 in 2006 from nonHodgkin’s lymphoma. He described a healthy young woman who died within a year, leaving behind her husband and their young son.
Meanwhile Whirlpool Corporation issued a statement that, “we are working closely with the current property owner, the U.S. EPA and the Ohio EPA to address the issues at the former Whirlpool Park through the Ohio EPA voluntary action program …,” according to NorthWestOhio.com.
It seems the so-called cancer cluster families allege that they were never advised concerning hazardous soil from Whirlpool that contaminated the area and that the owners of Whirlpool Park never tested the soil because they were advised that there were no issues with the soil, said NorthWestOhio.com.
PCBs—or polychlorinated biphenyls—include some 200 compounds and are a class of very toxic chemicals ubiquitously found in construction materials and electrical products in many buildings built from the 1950s until 1978, when they were phased out. PCBs were also used in electrical transformers and capacitors. Although banned, PCBs were an element in school construction and electrical products during this time.
In addition to being a skin irritant, PCBs have been linked to some cancers, as well as a variety of adverse health effects to the immune, reproductive, nervous, and endocrine systems.
We also previously wrote that according to research, PCBs have been linked to increased risks for autism in some children. The toxic chemicals can lead to a disruption of brain nerve connections in children.
PCBs accumulate in the environment, presenting serious health issues, and can remain in our bodies for many years. The longer we live, the more these toxins build in our systems, increasing in strength over time.
