Environmental groups say that there have been 11 cases of glioblastoma brain cancer in Middletown since 2004. The defense council and National Disease Cluster Alliance say there have been 42 suspected clusters involving various diseases across the United States.
The alliance says that in addition to Middletown, the cities of Clyde, Wellington, Marion and Marysville have been named as potential disease clusters. Department of health leaders say that a cancer cluster is a greater than expected number of cancer cases that happen within a group of people in a geographic area over times. It normally involves one type of cancer, a rare cancer of cancer found in an age group not normally affected by the cancer. The department says no single cause or hazard can usually be identified.
(McClatchy Newspapers contributed to this report.)
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