Kids & Family

Fridley Cancer Cluster Roundup: Group Founder's Wife Chimes In

Jennifer McCarty said she was initially opposed to her husband starting the Facebook group.

New membership has plateaued at about 2500 members in the , a discussion board started by former Fridley resident Jason McCarty in order to explore the possibility that Fridley’s could be due to environmental causes.

But discussion shows no signs of stagnating as group members continue to share anecdotes about friends, family and neighbors who contracted cancer after living in the city.

Here’s Fridley Patch’s rundown on recent developments and topics of discussion within the group:

I have tried so hard to bite my tongue, but I am about to bite it off so here goes. For the record, I was against Jason starting this group from the beginning. And I still think the name of the group should have a question mark after it. … All Jason is trying to do is help the people and the community he is from that he loves so dearly. He has not forgotten a single person from Fridley. He has managed to get almost everyone from his graduating class, regardless of cliques, in a facebook group socializing together. When someone comes in from out of town he always tries to have a get together for them. He truly cares about his roots. That is all this is about. People who know us know that if they need anything we are only a phone call away. He asked a question on behalf of people in need and opened up Pandora’s box when Erin Brockovich got on board. That is when my skepticism lessened. Someone as busy and highly regarded as her would not take on this case if there wasn't a good possibility of there really being something there.

  • A group member is collecting links to legal cases that “pertain to the environmental contamination in Fridley.” She’s found two so far:
  • Another group member attempted to put into perspective the significance of Fridley’s Superfund sites:

For those who think Fridley's Superfund sites are not unique consider this:

(1) Fridley is the only city in the United States to have been placed #1 on the list as the potentially most dangerous hazardous waste site in America.

(2) Fridley has four superfund sites within a 10.89 square mile area. In contrast, King County, WA, which includes the city of Seattle, has 10 superfund sites within 2,307 square miles. If King County had the same proportional number of Superfund sites, it would have 847 hazardous waste sties, of which 52 would be in the City of Seattle.

(3) The Commons Park site, sits on what use to be one of the most visited sites in Fridley and is located just one block away from the Fridley middle and high schools. Park View Elementary use to be just a block away, too.

Folks, there are very few American communities that can compare with Fridley.

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