A study published by the prestigious International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, released during a historic $6 billion trial in Ecuador against ChevronTexaco (NYSE CVX), found that 91 children have been diagnosed with cancer, particularly leukemia, where Texaco (now ChevronTexaco) dumped millions of gallons of toxic waste in the South American country from 1971 to 1991.
The study also found that children under the age of 15 are three times more likely to contract leukemia in the area where Texaco operated than in other Amazonian provinces, and the risk of cancer in the area studied is highest among children under the age 4.
The numbers cited cover the years 1985 to 2000 and were derived from the National Cancer Registry in Ecuador, which only documents cases where the victims have seen a doctor that reports the cancer. The study indicates that the number of cases may be significantly higher as many people in Ecuador cannot afford medical care and do not see a doctor before death. The study also emphasized that in the affected area there are no hospitals with equipment to detect and treat cancer.
The authors of the study are Dr. Anna-Karin Hurtig, from Sweden, and Dr. Miguel San Sebastián, from Spain.
The study is available at: http://www.ijoeh.com/index.html
and the pdf version is available below:
