Miami Herald News on Lawsuit

[John M Priest <priestj@DTEENERGY.COM>]

                       Posted on Mon, Feb. 10, 2003





                       Lawsuit: FPL power plant caused boy's cancer

                       JILL BARTON

                       Associated Press



                       WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The parents of an 8-year-old boy

sued

                       Florida Power & Light Monday, saying the nearby St. Lucie

nuclear

                       power plant caused his cancer.



                       The lawsuit cites a report that said a carcinogen was

found in the

                       baby teeth of children living near FPL's two

nuclear-powered

                       plants, the one at St. Lucie and the other at Turkey Point

south of

                       Miami.



                       The cancer-causing substance, which imbeds itself in bones

and

                       teeth, is produced only by nuclear explosions and by

nuclear

                       reactors.



                       The study by the Radiation and Public Health Project said

the high

                       level of the radioactive substance, strontium-90, could be



                       responsible for an apparently higher-than-average

childhood

                       cancer rate in South Florida.



                       "We started wondering was there some reason our son got

                       cancer other than bad luck of the draw?" said Scott

Finestone,

                       whose son, Zachary, was diagnosed with cancer in March

2000.



                       The Finestones had Zachary's baby teeth tested and found

                       abnormally high levels of the substance, according to the

suit.



                       "There's no explanation for it other than being near a

nuclear

                       power plant," said Nancy LaVista, the attorney for the

Finestones.

                       "It's a concern, and it's got to be explained."



                       FPL spokeswoman Rachel Scott declined to comment on

specifics

                       of the suit but said the Florida Department of Health has

tested

                       samples around the nuclear plant and found that the

radiation

                       level is not abnormal.



                       "There have been similar cases in the past that have been

                       reviewed and found to be completely without merit," Scott

said.



                       The Department of Health also reviewed the Radiation and

Public

                       Health Project's report and was not able to identify "any

unusually

                       high rates of cancers," according to a July 17, 2001

letter from Dr.

                       David Johnson, chief of the bureau of environmental

epidemiology.



                       Finestone, whose suit seeks unspecified damages of more

than

                       $1 million, said he wants to find answers for his family

and others

                       who live near the Hutchinson Island plant in St. Lucie.



                       "This is not something that anybody should have to go

through,"

                       he said. "Cancer was around before power plants,

obviously, but

                       there are a lot of families affected by cancer in this

area and if the

                       power plant is causing it, we need to prevent any other

families

                       from going through this."



                       The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in West Palm

Beach,

                       claims that FPL failed to test and monitor radioactive and

toxic

                       emissions that seeped into the air, water and soil.



                       Finestone said Zachary lived about six miles from the

plant during

                       his first few years and has lived within 15 miles of the

plant since.

                       He is undergoing chemotherapy and has had a bone marrow

                       transplant and abdominal surgery to remove a tumor.



                       ON THE NET



                       Florida Power & Light: http://fpl.com/



                       Nuclear Regulatory Commission: http://www.nrc.gov/



                       The Radiation and Public Health Project:

http://radiation.org/



"Richard F. Orthen" wrote:



> Power Reactor |Event Number: 39576 |

> | FACILITY: SAINT LUCIE REGION: 2 |NOTIFICATION DATE: 02/10/2003| | UNIT:

> [1] [2] [] STATE: FL |NOTIFICATION TIME: 18:46[EST]| | RXTYPE: [1] CE,[2] CE

> |EVENT DATE: 02/10/2003|

> +------------------------------------------------+EVENT TIME: 18:00[EST]| |

> EVENT TEXT

> +---------------------------------------------------------------------------

> ---| | "On February 10, 2003 the parents of an eight-year-old boy diagnosed

> with | | cancer filed a federal lawsuit against Florida Power and Light

> Company. The | | lawsuit alleges that the cause of the cancer was

> attributable to the child | | living in close proximity to the St. Lucie

> Nuclear Power Plant. | | | | "This event has created significant attention

> from both the local and | | national media FPL does not currently plan to

> make a formal press release. | | This informational notification is being

> made to alert the NRC of the | | situation and potential media inquiries." |

> | | | The NRC Resident Inspector will be notified. |

> +---------------------------------------------------------------------------

> ---+

>

> Rick Orthen

> Earth Sciences Consultants, Inc.

>

> -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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