[CPEO-MEF] Navy secretary promises cooperation in Nev. leukemia probe

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Navy secretary promises cooperation in Nevada leukemia probe
By BRENDAN RILEY, Associated Press Writer
October 24, 2002

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) -- Navy Secretary Gordon England said Wednesday
the Navy will cooperate fully with the state in a probe of a leukemia
epidemic in a small northern Nevada town that's home to a major pilot
training base.

Sixteen people ages 20 or younger -- all with ties to the
military-agricultural community of Fallon -- have been diagnosed with
Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, or ALL, since 1997. Three have died.

A jet fuel pipeline serves Fallon Naval Air Station. Federal agencies
have ruled the pipeline out as a public health hazard, but other
scientists continue to investigate JP-8 jet fuel as a possible cause of
the leukemia.

England said studies are continuing but JP-8 fuel is used throughout the
world and there's no data to suggest it's to blame.

"If there's a problem, the nation needs to know that," he added. "If
that's a problem, we'll find a way to deal with it."

England, meeting with Gov. Kenny Guinn, was praised by the governor for
working "hand-in-glove with the state of Nevada" to investigate the
disease and to upgrade a water system because of higher-than-normal
levels of arsenic in the Fallon area's groundwater.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Site=TD&Date=20021024&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=210240103&Ref=AR

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