Reid calls for better health tracking

Wednesday, March 6, 2002 | 11:06 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The United States needs a better national system of tracking whether environmental factors may be causing "cancer clusters," Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., was expected to tell a Senate panel today.

Reid said an unexplained outbreak of childhood leukemia in Fallon has spurred him to introduce legislation aimed at establishing a better national health information network. The Centers for Disease Control needs help in that area, Reid said.

"We don't know what caused this (Fallon) leukemia outbreak, and we don't have a tracking system to tell us how many other Fallons there are out there yet to be identified," Reid said in prepared remarks.

Reid was to join Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., at the Senate hearing today. He and Clinton held a hearing in Fallon last year. Clinton today pointed to a report released this week that links air pollution with lung cancer.

"Only through improved tracking will we be able to rule in -- or rule out -- connections with the environment," Clinton said.

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