Mercury effects linger.........

[Guest guest]

The coffin for the vac supporters gets stronger by the day - Jagannath.

Mercury effects linger, lawyer says

A 5-year-old who attended the Kiddie Kollege day care is reportedly

experiencing seizures. A new round of tests found elevated levels in at least a

dozen children. By Jan Hefler Inquirer Staff Writer

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/15522061.htm Seven weeks after the

mercury-contaminated Kiddie Kollege day-care center closed, a 5-year-old

lin Township girl still has seizures, unexplained rashes, mysterious

illnesses and peeling skin on her fingers and toes, which her attorney says are

linked to inhaling the toxic metal.

The girl is among at least a dozen Kiddie Kollege children who still have

elevated levels of mercury in their bodies, according to results of a second

round of medical tests that were released in recent days to parents.

Several parents and their attorneys said the new tests are alarming because

experts had expected the levels of mercury in the bodies of children who spent

time in the former Gloucester County thermometer factory would drop over time.

" When the Health Department contacted me this time, they actually acted a

little concerned, " said Tina Toy, whose 2-year-old daughter, Savannah, attended

Kiddie Kollege for more than a year. Toy said the state worker " had a heavy

heart " in his conversation with her.

Kiddie Kollege shut July 28 after state Department of Environmental Protection

workers discovered it had been operating in the bankrupt thermometer factory -

one of New Jersey's known toxic sites - for two years.

The state attorney general has launched a criminal probe into how the day-care

center was allowed to open and other state officials are conducting a widening

probe into whether more day-care centers are imperiled by the state's 17,000

known contaminated sites.

Last month, the state Department of Health and Senior Services tested 60

Kiddie Kollege students for mercury exposure and reported that 20 had elevated

but acceptable levels of mercury. State health officials said the mercury levels

should drop as the children stay away from mercury exposure.

The children were tested again this month. The state Department of Health and

Senior Services would not disclose the results to The Inquirer.

Parents said the second round of tests were not encouraging. More than half

the children had levels above the normal range, according to interviews with

parents and their attorneys.

" What we're seeing is what we suspected before the test came back - the

mercury is not leaving their systems quickly enough and they're the cases where

you see the symptoms persisting, " said Manganello, a Pitman lawyer

who represents the 5-year-old girl with seizures and 17 other Kiddie Kollege

children.

The girl's mercury level dropped slightly, he said. Still, the mercury level

in that girl and in nine other children he represents remain above normal.

Bridgeton lawyer McCann said he represents two other children whose

mercury levels exceed normal, including Dillon Widdifield, 5, who has the

highest mercury level of any of the Kiddie Kollege children.

" They are very distraught, " he said of Dillon's parents.

The children who still have elevated levels will be retested again in about a

month. Their homes also will be tested, to see whether mercury may have been

brought home in their bookbags, sleeping bags or other articles.

The parents and their attorneys have asked state and federal health officials

to expand the testing to include children who weren't attending Kiddie Kollege

at the time it was closed. They also have asked that testing for all the

children continue for decades or more.

" These kids need testing and the employees need testing for the rest of their

lives. It's just the right thing to do, " said Manganello.

Tom Slater, spokesman for the state Department of Health and Senior Services,

confirmed that parents have been told the results for their own children. He

said said he didn't know why the state wouldn't publicly release the total

result of the second tests.

---------------------------------

" Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from life but the conquest

of life by the power of the spirit. " - Aurobindo.

---------------------------------

Want to be your own boss? Learn how on Small Business.

[Guest guest]

Huh! They don't need testing for the rest of their lives..they need

treatment.

>

> The coffin for the vac supporters gets stronger by the day -

Jagannath.

>

> Mercury effects linger, lawyer says

> A 5-year-old who attended the Kiddie Kollege day care is

reportedly experiencing seizures. A new round of tests found

elevated levels in at least a dozen children. By Jan Hefler

Inquirer Staff Writer

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/15522061.htm Seven weeks after

the mercury-contaminated Kiddie Kollege day-care center closed, a 5-

year-old lin Township girl still has seizures, unexplained

rashes, mysterious illnesses and peeling skin on her fingers and

toes, which her attorney says are linked to inhaling the toxic metal.

>

> The girl is among at least a dozen Kiddie Kollege children who

still have elevated levels of mercury in their bodies, according to

results of a second round of medical tests that were released in

recent days to parents.

>

> Several parents and their attorneys said the new tests are

alarming because experts had expected the levels of mercury in the

bodies of children who spent time in the former Gloucester County

thermometer factory would drop over time.

>

> " When the Health Department contacted me this time, they

actually acted a little concerned, " said Tina Toy, whose 2-year-old

daughter, Savannah, attended Kiddie Kollege for more than a year.

Toy said the state worker " had a heavy heart " in his conversation

with her.

>

> Kiddie Kollege shut July 28 after state Department of

Environmental Protection workers discovered it had been operating in

the bankrupt thermometer factory - one of New Jersey's known toxic

sites - for two years.

>

> The state attorney general has launched a criminal probe into

how the day-care center was allowed to open and other state

officials are conducting a widening probe into whether more day-care

centers are imperiled by the state's 17,000 known contaminated sites.

>

> Last month, the state Department of Health and Senior Services

tested 60 Kiddie Kollege students for mercury exposure and reported

that 20 had elevated but acceptable levels of mercury. State health

officials said the mercury levels should drop as the children stay

away from mercury exposure.

>

> The children were tested again this month. The state Department

of Health and Senior Services would not disclose the results to The

Inquirer.

>

> Parents said the second round of tests were not encouraging.

More than half the children had levels above the normal range,

according to interviews with parents and their attorneys.

>

> " What we're seeing is what we suspected before the test came

back - the mercury is not leaving their systems quickly enough and

they're the cases where you see the symptoms persisting, " said

Manganello, a Pitman lawyer who represents the 5-year-

old girl with seizures and 17 other Kiddie Kollege children.

>

> The girl's mercury level dropped slightly, he said. Still, the

mercury level in that girl and in nine other children he represents

remain above normal.

>

> Bridgeton lawyer McCann said he represents two other

children whose mercury levels exceed normal, including Dillon

Widdifield, 5, who has the highest mercury level of any of the

Kiddie Kollege children.

>

> " They are very distraught, " he said of Dillon's parents.

>

> The children who still have elevated levels will be retested

again in about a month. Their homes also will be tested, to see

whether mercury may have been brought home in their bookbags,

sleeping bags or other articles.

>

> The parents and their attorneys have asked state and federal

health officials to expand the testing to include children who

weren't attending Kiddie Kollege at the time it was closed. They

also have asked that testing for all the children continue for

decades or more.

>

> " These kids need testing and the employees need testing for the

rest of their lives. It's just the right thing to do, " said

Manganello.

>

> Tom Slater, spokesman for the state Department of Health and

Senior Services, confirmed that parents have been told the results

for their own children. He said said he didn't know why the state

wouldn't publicly release the total result of the second tests.

>

> ---------------------------------

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>

>

> " Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from life

but the conquest of life by the power of the spirit. " - Aurobindo.

>

>

>

>

>

> ---------------------------------

> Want to be your own boss? Learn how on Small Business.

>

>