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Ione residents urge testing after cluster of childhood cancer cases; council hears wastewater concerns
Summary
Speakers at the Ione City Council meeting pressed officials to demand environmental testing after a newly formed nonprofit and multiple residents said five childhood cancer cases have been diagnosed in Ione in two years and urged agencies to investigate potential links to local wastewater, prison discharges and industrial sites.
Patricia Anjija, treasurer of Amador's Heart of Gold, urged the Ione City Council on Tuesday to push local, county and state agencies to test the environment after she said six childhood cancer cases have been diagnosed in Amador County this year and five of those cases were in Ione. "Five of those cases being located in Ione . . . gives us a rate of 0.094 percent," Anjija said, and she described that figure as far above the national average.
Anjija said she calculated a county rate of 0.015 percent and compared it to the National Cancer Institute's national average of 0.0048 percent. She asked the council to press Amador County Public Health, the Amador Water Agency, Mule Creek State Prison, the regional water quality control board and other agencies to conduct environmental and drinking-water testing and to remediate any contributing factors.
The request came during an extended public-comment period and a separate council discussion about wastewater-related public records and letters previously filed with state regulators. Several residents and former golf-course employees described recurring discoloration and ponding near Hole 13 of the municipal golf course and said they had repeatedly raised concerns that runoff or irrigation could be connected to the wastewater system.
"I implore you to prioritize investigating and, most importantly, remediating any contributing factors to the seemingly epidemic of childhood cancer cases in Amador County," Anjija said. Council members and staff did not vote to launch an immediate county-funded testing program during the meeting; the item was listed as a discussion and council members instead urged next steps.
Council discussion focused on options for an immediate response before the next irrigation season. One council member recommended the council decide quickly whether to continue using Mill Creek-sourced water for irrigation next year and to begin preparations to stop using that source if warranted. "If we can decide right now and make preparations because right now Mill Creek is named on our Title 22, we need to start working on that now," a council member said, urging staff to prepare if the council chooses to end that supply.
Public commenters also noted a recent local death and appealed for transparency and expedited testing. Council members repeatedly said the issue merited independent testing of wells, groundwater and soils near the affected homes and neighborhoods, and some council members asked staff to assemble options for such testing and potential funding sources.
The council did not adopt a formal resolution or allocate funds at the meeting; instead, members asked for follow-up, acknowledged the seriousness of residents' concerns and discussed forming a committee or returning the item to a future agenda with staff options for independent testing and next procedural steps.
