Cancer Clusters - Fallon, Nevada

In a 2019 article, journalist Ben Margiott revisits the mystery surrounding the outbreak of a rare, childhood leukemia cancer in the small city of Fallon, Nevada two decades ago. Out of sixteen cases, three of the children died. Despite the money and resources that went into researching the cause, the results were inconclusive; there was speculation around the water supplies in the city, but a direct cause could not be proven. Scientists working on the case seem to be in agreement that this unprecedented cancer case will most likely remain a mystery (Margiott 2019).

The case of Fallon, Nevada highlights how random cancer clusters can be; the estimated chances of a cancer cluster like this happening were placed at 1 in 233 million (Margiott 2019). With no direct cause being identified, many questions that intersect science and policy are brought up - are such random cases of cancer clusters worth the money and resources of researching cause, if so many end up being inconclusive? what sort of regulations must be implemented? how can cancer cluster outbursts be stopped? The list goes on, bringing many ethical and philosophical debates into question.


https://mynews4.com/news/local/two-decades-later-fallon-cancer-cluster-likely

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