Erin Brockovich Expert Witness Part 2

Despite a state report that says otherwise, a Kansas City, MO, personal injury law firm told residents Saturday that their five-month investigation shows a larger than expected number of cancer cases among the town’s 6,500 residents. Dr. James Dahlgren, a California toxicology expert made famous by a movie about Erin Brockovich, said the high incidences are the after effects of the former Rockwool Industries insulation plant, which operated in Cameron for 18 years, between 1974 and 1992. Ms. Brockovich was to speak in Cameron on Monday, but organizers said she postponed due to a scheduling conflict.

Citing a town population of 6,500, he said that number is “higher than it should be” when considering 15 out of 100,000 malignant cancer cases would be a high incidence in any other part of the country.

Answering an audience question about the validity of the state investigation, Dr. Dahlgren said his experience as an expert on numerous toxic exposure cases across the country has been that the state investigates the community in a way so that they’re not compelled into action and made to run into “a political buzzsaw.”