Editorial: Learning more about outbreak of leukemia

Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2001 | 8:58 a.m.

State legislative hearings into a mysteriously high incidence of childhood leukemia in the rural Nevada town of Fallon got off to a promising start Monday, producing a wide range of experts with varying assessments of what might have caused the disease.

State health officials aren't sure what has caused the cluster to develop in the small Northern Nevada town, but they don't believe the source is higher-than-usual levels of naturally occurring arsenic in Fallon's drinking water. Still, researchers shouldn't totally discount the possibility of arsenic or other sources in the drinking water from being the culprit, especially since relatively little is known about the disease.

archive