I do not understand why the horrible situation in Leroy, NY is not in the headlines.

[garybeck]

Le Roy Mystery Disease Update

Update: 2/9/2011
Recently released documents show a fracking spill took place on school grounds- strangely, a month and a half before the first girl started exhibiting Tourette-like symptoms.

http://holisticremediesnews.com/2144/le-roy-mystery-disease-update-fracking-spill-documented-on-school-grounds/

Update: 2/7/2011
Holistic Remedies News corespondent Carol Sidofsky has just received an e mail from one of the Le Roy parents whose daughter is one of 16 suffering from the mystery disease. The e mail also includes a press release by Dr. Trifeletti, M.D. (pediatric neurologist) from Ramsey New Jersey who is treating 9 of the 12 girls. The parent (who asked to remain nameless) said Dr. Trifeletti requested the press release to be sent to “whomever is interested in helping the Le Roy tic disorders sufferers.”

“A PANDAS-like illness is my working diagnosis, rather than amass conversion disorder as others have suggested,” said Dr. Trifiletti. He has already started treating the girls with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory agents.
When asked to comment on the continued insistence by Dr. Laszlo Mechtler that the girls have conversion disorder (or mass hysteria as Dr. Mechtler originally stated), Dr. Trifiletti said, “I’m confused by that because he’s never actually seen or interviewed any of the nine girls I examined.”
These findings provide a significant clue in the Le Roy High School mystery, but certainly many questions remain.

http://holisticremediesnews.com/2091/le-roy-mystery-disease-update-working-diagnosis-linked-to-infectionsenvironment/

Update: 2/3/2011. Fracking is a very effective method used by Drilling Companies to extract natural gas underneath the ground (and sideways) without disturbing the surface. The process uses water and toxic chemicals that are injected at high pressure into the ground to release the gas. One of the world’s largest natural gas supplies runs through Pennsylvania, but also continues on to western New York State, in fact right on through to Le Roy New York where 6 gas wells exist underneath Le Roy Junior/Senior High School. Was fracking used to extract gas underneath the school? Exposure to the chemicals used in fracking are proven toxins which kills trees, livestock, causes muscle tremors, dizziness, cardiac issues to humans and can make the water supply flammable.



Leroy Families Describe Medical Mystery Anguish
http://drdrew.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/03/le-roy-families-describe-medical-mystery-anguish/?hpt=dr_t3

Documents: Fracking Wells Spilled Shortly Before Illnesses Developed
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2012/02/03/exp-drew-gas-wells-leroy-fracking-hln.cnn

New York Students Illness
http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/03/us/new-york-students-illness/index.html

Mothers: They're Not Faking Symptoms
http://drdrew.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/01/mothers-theyre-not-faking-symptoms/?hpt=dr_t2


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

Is it just me? It seems like if this were any other kind of tragedy it would be in the headlines every night as it unfolds. But it seems to be buried in the news, and most people don't even know this is happening. Could it have anything to do with the fact that fracking and/or negligence by the school officials might be involved?

[redqueen]

1. I'd suspect fracking over school negligence...

stories about school negligence seem to spread fairly well once they get out.

[blm]

2. Because gas companies buy millions and millions of dollars worth of ad time on the 'news' networks.

They will not cross the gas companies on this...no way...no day.

[arcane1]

4. *ding ding!* we have a winner!

[awoke_in_2003]

46. and they buy millions...

and million of dollars in legislatures.

[Xtraneous]

54. Including Democratic governors.

Choice at the polls? What choice?

[awoke_in_2003]

89. the older I get...

the more it appears that the choice is asshole1 or asshole2. To make even state level politics you have to sell your soul.

[Earth_First]

3. It's getting there, greybeck...

Through no fault of the parents and their children, their message is slowly getting out there.

Leroy is a small, mostly rural town that is not generally used to handling situations like this; so I have no fault on the parents for the lack of media coverage. They're doing the best they can, the best they know how to...ya know?

I place the blame squarely on the state and school district since the entire time, they have been extremely covert, cryptic and cynical of the whole situation.

In fact, two weeks ago *ALL* media requests are now handled through a law firm almost nearly 50 miles away in Rochester, N.Y.

There was an independant research and analysis team (Erin Brockavich's firm) that showed up with the media in tow two weeks ago to take soil samples, and the district called the State Police on them and became further reclusive with the media.

They've hired a private security firm to patroll the enterances to the campus and ensure that the media is adhering to the off-campus orders as well...

It will take some time, but the parents, children and activists here locally are doing their absolute best that they can...

[garybeck]

8. I'm from Rochester.

This entire situation smells really rotten. Why does a school stonewall parents and hire a law firm to answer questions?

I believe this will eventually be a huge story, if the "be the media" folks (like us) can do our job and break through.

Definitely no fault of the parents. I watch those videos and my heart just aches for them.

one thing I know, if I lived in Leroy, at this point my kids would NOT be going to that school until this is resolved. From my cold dead arms they would have to pry my kids away from me.

[Earth_First]

11. Right on, we're in Scottsville...

I think the local media, given it's nature; has been doing a decent job at the very least reporting the story/known facts.

As far as investigative journalism is concerned, they fall flat on their face.

Something definately does not add up here, and you are absolutely correct about the school stonewalling the parents; it triggers the "say what, now..." alarm...

Maybe it's time for someone to enter the school grounds after hours and have the samples sent out to a lab...

[MorningGlow]

27. No kidding

I'm not far from LeRoy, and my son was supposed to sign up for karate there. I confess I've hesitated, just in case this illness turns out to be caused by an infection.

What pisses me off is that so much time was lost dismissing it as "conversion disorder" or "mass hysteria". Christ, would they have said the same if it was a dozen BOYS who came down with this? I highly doubt it.

[HowHeThinks]

59. Brockport here.........

I see in this morning's news that surrounding schools are refusing to take part in any athletic or extracaricular activities where they have to travel to Leroy. I can't say as I blame them. Who wants to send their kids into a situation where there is so little information known about the cause of this outbreak?
And who was responsible for agreeing to have 6 gas wells located beneath school property? It reminds me of one of 'The Simpsons' episodes, only they didn't get sick in that one. They just got the shaft from the oil companies (and Monty Burns, of course).
There's far more going on than meets the eye, and I hope they get to the bottom of it very soon. My guy instinct tells me that because energy companies are involved, everything will be swept beneath the carpet and they'll find some other sacrificial lamb to take the heat.
Nice to know there are more DU members from the area. Sometimes I feel like the Lone Ranger around here.

[TheWraith]

15. Corrections.

"There was an independant research and analysis team (Erin Brockavich's firm) that showed up with the media in tow two weeks ago to take soil samples, and the district called the State Police on them"

It was the local county sheriff's deputies.

"They've hired a private security firm to patroll the enterances to the campus and ensure that the media is adhering to the off-campus orders as well..."

Still the county deputies.

[onlyadream]

5. Not a word about the fracking

Ive been following this story, and there's no talk of fracking yet. Maybe Erin B. will investigate this avenue. I also read that a 38 yo woman and a boy also started experiencing symptoms but this is hardly mentioned in the MSM.

[Earth_First]

7. They attempted to re: Erin Brocavich...

They were escorted off campus by State/local police

[garybeck]

10. check out the links in the OP. Fracking is definitely being discussed.

we are the media.

[MorningGlow]

29. And the woman is a nurse practitioner

Not exactly a fly-by-night individual trying to get her 15 minutes.

[spanone]

6. i saw an extended story on it last week

60 minutes? not sure which show

[garybeck]

14. Dr. Drew on CNN

has been giving some attention and has been even discussing the fracking on the site. My point is it's showing up on Dr Drew's blog page which is kinda discreet, when it really should be on the CNN home page.

[TheWraith]

9. First off, stop reading "Holistic Remedies News."

You're going to get your mind filled with more horseshit than if you watched Fox.

Second, it's been all over the national news for weeks, and made the evening network news a few days ago. The simple fact is, though, there's not a lot to report. Despite multiple doctors, no one can find any actual medical cause for the girls' symptoms. That leads to the suspicion from some doctors that it's psychosomatic--which contrary to popular myth does NOT mean "faking it" or "crazy," but rather genuine symptoms brought on by stress, trauma, fear, etcetera.

[garybeck]

12. Uh,,, I think you're missing some of the story

Sometimes you have to read alternative news. The news release from the doctor who has been hired by the parents issued a press release. I found that on Holistic Remedies News. I'd credit them for that, not condemn.

If you think we should ignore the findings of their doctor, and believe the doctor who HAS NOT EVEN EXAMINED the kids instead, go for it.

Me thinks you could benefit from digging a little deeper.

[TheWraith]

21. "Alternative news" is a good way to get stuff that is not "news."

I live 20 miles from Le Roy and see this story constantly in all the local media, so I have a pretty good understanding of it. The fact is that no one has found an actual medical cause for this. This one doctor who claims to be "treating" them (from New Jersey?) wants to talk about a "PANDAS-like illness," but the scientific fact is that there's no evidence PANDAS actually exists. Trifetti has not actually examined any of the girls either--his "diagnosis" is based on reading some bloodwork, and it's no coincidence that he is also one of the leading proponents of claiming that PANDAS does exist. In other words he's an attention seeker latching himself on to a high profile case and exploit the shit out of these families for his own personal gain.

[garybeck]

26. That's not my experience.

Some of the most important stories I've known about in the last 10 years came to me through alternative news. Some via DU. In fact DU is full of alternative media links and that is one of the powerful things about DU - it is a way for people to find out about things that the MSM doesn't report on. If you don't like alternative media and you are a big fan of MSM, why are you on DU?

I'm no expert but I have seen enough of this story to feel pretty confident that this is not an emotional disorder. Jumping to that conclusion by people who have not viewed the patient's bloodwork seems very unusual to me.

[TheWraith]

31. You're right, you're not an expert.

"Some of the most important stories I've known about in the last 10 years came to me through alternative news. Some via DU. In fact DU is full of alternative media links and that is one of the powerful things about DU - it is a way for people to find out about things that the MSM doesn't report on. If you don't like alternative media and you are a big fan of MSM, why are you on DU?"

Nice attempt at purity testing, but blind, credulous belief in things which aren't real isn't a membership criteria for DU, and "Holistic Remedies News" falls very much into that category. There's a great deal of "alternative media" which is far worse about pushing an agenda than any "mainstream media" ever has been, and "alternative medicine" sites are among the worse offenders, frequently publishing stories which are highly selective or outright false. Some of us are very strong believers in evidence-based reality, not faith-based. That includes medicine, science, and fact-based news.

"I'm no expert but I have seen enough of this story to feel pretty confident that this is not an emotional disorder."

You're right, you're not an expert. People ridicule psychosomatic illnesses as "emotional disorders" or "faking it" without knowing the first thing really about what it means. Here's a hint: PTSD is a psychosomatic illness. That doesn't make the flashbacks, panic attacks, memory loss, fits, etcetera any less real for the people who suffer from it. Acid reflux brought on by stress is a psychosomatic illness. That doesn't make the actual physical illness any less real.

Even just "mere" stress can result in a person developing tics, muscle spasms, breakdowns, inability to self-censor, etcetera. I should know this one, it's happened to me. A few years ago I developed an uncontrollable facial tic around my right eye. There was no medical cause--it was purely stress induced, and eventually went away when my stress level dropped. Psychosomatic means that something originates in the mind, but that can still have very powerful physical effects. The placebo effect is psychosomatic, but it has a very real effect on the body's health.

"Jumping to that conclusion by people who have not viewed the patient's bloodwork seems very unusual to me."

If you knew more about the story--the parts that "Holistic Remedies News" doesn't want to report because it doesn't advance their agenda--you'd know that that doctor HAS viewed the girls' bloodwork, and so has exactly as much information as the doctor in New Jersey who's attempting to exploit the families for his own profit.

[garybeck]

39. You're putting words in my mouth and thoughts in my mind, that simply aren't there.

You said

Nice attempt at purity testing, but blind, credulous belief in things which aren't real isn't a membership criteria for DU, and "Holistic Remedies News" falls very much into that category. There's a great deal of "alternative media" which is far worse about pushing an agenda than any "mainstream media" ever has been, and "alternative medicine" sites are among the worse offenders, frequently publishing stories which are highly selective or outright false. Some of us are very strong believers in evidence-based reality, not faith-based. That includes medicine, science, and fact-based news.

Just reading an article and sharing the information is not blind credulous belief. I never said it was fracking, or anything else. At this point there are questions. There are not answers.

If you want to know what blind credulous belief is, it's thinking the MSM is the only place you can get the truth.

Personally I like to take it all in and attempt to make an objective decision. In this case, I don't think there's enough information yet. We need independent testing of the water and the soil and the girl's blood. Any doctors who claim to know the cause when they haven't even evaluated the girls directly is no better than any alternative news media site on either side of the political spectrum.

[Earth_First]

13. Hydrofracking + active Superfund cleanup site + mysterious illnesses...

It's pretty easy to get on someone when you are removed from the situation, what's your connection to the story?

Fact is, it's a disturbing situation to those of us who live in Western/Central New York, so ease up a bit, would ya?

[TheWraith]

18. I live 20 miles south of Le Roy. nt

[Earth_First]

30. Right on, I'll retract the comment on being removed from the situation, appologies...

However, it seems given the reclusive nature of the district, state and the myriad doctor opinions I'm just not exactly willing to believe the official story yet...

[TheWraith]

32. That's your perogative, of course.

But the fact that they can't find any other medical cause makes me find the thing rather curious. Yes, there was the Lehigh Valley Railroad derailment which spilled ~30,000 gallons of very powerful solvent into the local groundwater--but that was 42 years ago, and any effects should have manifested LONG ago. As for fracking, if that were the cause, why has it never happened anywhere else that fracking is going on, such as in Wyoming and Pennsylvania? Why just these girls and no other kids at the school? Why no adults?

Moreover, if this were the result of chemical exposure of any kind, you would expect to see that not just in the bloodwork but also in the symptoms. Notice that there's no real cognitive impairment, no noticeable brain damage, no anemia, no liver or kidney damage, none of the things that you'd expect to see with chemical toxicity. Particularly with chemicals such as trichloroethylene (the Lehigh Valley Railroad derailment) or those used in fracking fluids like benzene, butanol, and other unstable chemicals.

[onlyadream]

35. Not necessarily

Any contamination from the accident 40+ years ago may have recently gotten into ground water, we just don't know. As for the amount of people affected and the fact that they're girls, it could be that some people are genetically predisposed to adverse affects. A 38 yo woman and a boy was also reported. Maybe we'll see more as time goes on. Too early to tell, but all avenues should be explored.

[Art_from_Ark]

47. This sounds similar to Love Canal

"Hooker Chemical had sold the site to the Niagara Falls School Board in 1953 for $1, with a deed explicitly detailing the presence of the waste,[1] and including a liability limitation clause about the contamination. The construction efforts of housing development, combined with particularly heavy rainstorms, released the chemical waste, leading to a public health emergency and an urban planning scandal. Hooker Chemical was found to be negligent in their disposal of waste, though not reckless in the sale of the land, in what became a test case for liability clauses. The dumpsite was discovered and investigated by the local newspaper, the Niagara Falls Gazette, from 1976 through the evacuation in 1978. Potential health problems were first raised by reporter Michael H. Brown in July 1978."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Canal

[thesquanderer]

67. There was a fracking *accident* there.

re: "As for fracking, if that were the cause, why has it never happened anywhere else that fracking is going on"

Did you read the CNN article?

"Another area of concern for environmental groups in LeRoy are natural gas wells on school property...The wells use a controversial technique called fracking, which shoots a chemical mixture into the earth to force out the gas. In July 2011, some of the tanks at the well sites leaked fluid on to athletic fields. Some trees died. "

Kids may have been playing on that field before the spill was ever noticed.

[hootinholler]

62. That kind of explains a lot

Kidding.

[AlbertCat]

56. First off, stop reading "Holistic Remedies News."

Really! That made me suspect the whole story. Holistic medicine is as dangerous as fracking!

from Wiki:

"There have been no published scientific studies that prove the efficacy, beyond the Placebo Effect, of holistic medicine in treating any known disease."

[Little Star]

16. 5 natural gas wells ring the high school (& there is fracking going on)

I was watching Dr Drew about this until he turned chicken shit and tried to lead everyone to believe that it's just conversion disorder.

When the topic started heating up about those wells surrounding the school he stopped covering it.

This is a thread I started about this back on Feb 2nd. There's a few good links in there.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002256488

[garybeck]

19. Dr Drew turned chicken shit?

I haven't seen that one... I've watched 3 or 4 of his videos on it so far and he seems to be acknowledging the possibility of fracking spills and other things could be the cause. did he recently whimp out? Maybe the CNN execs got a call from the "advertisers"? (note there are Fracking ads right on the CNN home page!)

anyone who thinks this is an emotional disorder is completely NUTS in my book. I'd bet the house on it.

[Little Star]

23. At first he was guns-ho about the train spill of 30-40 years ago..

but when came to light about the gas wells/fracking right on school grounds he started to play that part down and play up the conversion disorder part up.

I don't usually watch him but when he started covering LeRoy I watched every night he was on until it became obvious to me it was to much of a hot potato for him.

I stopped watching at that point but flipping by his show I thought he had abandoned the whole story. I could be wrong about that though because I stopped watching the whole hour.

[KT2000]

81. Yes - he has dropped it

The last time he discussed it, it was a short segment and just a recap.
I wondered how long it would take for CNN to make him stop.

At one point he was considering a trip to the area to see what he could figure out.

[onlyadream]

17. Just viewed the CNN video

And am surprised that fracking came up a week ago! In all the articles I've read, and news shows I watched, they only say that the school won't allow anyone on school grounds to take soil samples, which puts up a red flag. Never anything about fracking.

Thanks for posting!

[Little Star]

25. Yep!

[sendero]

64. I thought.....

.... schools were public property. By what right can they restrict entrance?

Oh yeah, we live in the USA, the law went out the window years ago.

[onlyadream]

20. If I were the parent of one of those girls

I'd get someone to get a soil sample.

[garybeck]

22. ONe thing I'm wondering.... is the school still open?

I mean, with all this, are some kids still going to that school every day. there's no way in hell I would let my kids go to that school at this point.

[TheWraith]

33. Yes, it is. All the kids are still going to school.

They're not going to shut down a school serving hundreds of kids, which has been tested by the NYS Department of Health, for months at a time because 12 girls have something unexplained going on.

[garybeck]

37. IMHO

there's enough evidence that there's a possibility of an environmental cause, that I would take MY kids out of that school immediately.

[Little Star]

28. Most of those parents were not even aware of the wells or the fracking...

until the media started to join Brokivitch and talk about it. Then it seems the media pretty much stopped covering it.

The school had refused to let Brokivitch get the soil sampled. The town is stonewalling, imho.

[maximusveritas]

34. Yes, let's spread the mass hysteria even more. Great idea.

This is textbook conversion disorder that has turned into mass hysteria thanks to the ignorance on the part of the parents and media and unfortunately they've found some doctor to reinforce their ignorance with his pet disease (PANDAS).

This article explains things pretty well if you're actually looking for reality-based answers.
http://www.buffalonews.com/topics/mysterious-illnesses-in-le-roy/article725756.ece

[onlyadream]

36. I'm sure you sleep good at night

believing that. Good for you.

As for me, the jury is still out. And the fact that there was fracking right on school grounds makes one wonder. Especially the fact that the school won't allow soil samples. Fishy.

As for the NYS Dept of Health giving the premises the "OK" - doesn't mean much to me. People can be bought.

[garybeck]

38. If you were correct then the school board would gladly let people test the soil

your assessment of the situation shows blind faith in authority, even when they are stonewalling, and it also shows a disregard for scientific evaluation. The fact is we don't know for sure what the cause is at this point. Period. anyone, on any side, claiming they know for sure what is causing the illness is jumping the gun.

IMHO, there's more than enough evidence to show there's at least a possibility that the ground or water is contaminated there. If the school would let people test the soil maybe we would have answers sooner than otherwise.

[maximusveritas]

43. They are doing the testing, but how much will be enough?

If the tests are negative, will you allege some conspiracy in the testing? Perhaps they just tested the wrong spot? This is not science anymore. The doctors who evaluated the patients did more than the normal tests you would normally do and they diagnosed them with conversion disorder, which is a real disorder that can be treated if accepted by the patients.

The question I have is how will you sleep at night, knowing that you are contributing to the mass hysteria by promoting this story? You and the media that has been reporting on this and giving these girls the stage on national TV have prolonged their suffering and led it to spread to other people in the community. They will have this on their conscience no matter how many new tests they ask for and how much they deny the reality of what has happened.

[A Simple Game]

44. The school board should not let just anyone take samples.

People tend to find what they are looking for. Who would take the samples? Who would test them?

Just an invitation for law suits. No way would I let just anyone take samples. No way would any lawyer advise that you let samples be taken.

[Bonobo]

40. "Conversion Disorder" sounds an awful lot like the "women hysteria" beliefs.

"teenage girls can influence each other" blah, blah, blah.

Ahem. Bullshit.

[Honeycombe8]

41. Why doctors don't think it's an environmental cause

I read an article by a doctor (who I think had NOT examined any of the affected teens) who deduced what the cause probably was, just based on facts in the news. At first I thought, well...how could he deduce a cause then? Then I read the article, and what he said made sense.

He address the possible causes, including environmental. He said that the reason it wasn't environmental is because all but one of the affected teens are female, and further, all the affected people are teens. Environmental causes of symptoms don't work that way. They don't affect just one gender or just one age group. If anything, any environmental cause would have more likely affected young children, before it affected teens, unless it was something that young children weren't exposed to. But even if were a location environmental situation, then the school staff and other people would have been exposed, too, as well as teen boys.

That sounds like common sense to me. He went on to address other possible causes, and they likewise could be ruled out because of obvious things. He said, however, that left the syndrome being considered, and it fit the situation and its victims. Therefore, that is likely the cause. It has happened before, but not often.

[MorningGlow]

42. But now a boy has the symptoms, and a 30-something woman (nurse practitioner)

So the "drama queen teens" theory is weaker at this point.

On edit: Also, there was the implication that the girls hung out together and influenced each other, but they weren't in the same grade or same social circles.

[provis99]

45. those two only got the symptoms after the story because famous.

It's obvious psychosomatic.

[onlyadream]

48. Why are you so sure?

From what I've read about conversion disorders (http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/9339/9759.html), they don't last long, and having them clustered like this is strange (one case, yes, but all these?). I belie ve some of these cases have been going on for 9 months.

The thing is - no one knows for sure. To hear this diagnosis and accept it so readily is dangerous. Every avenue should be explored.

[provis99]

57. if it's been going on for 9 months,

then it obviously wasn't the fraking spill a month and a half ago, was it!?!

[onlyadream]

66. I don't know the date of the spill

But the article from the OP says

" No matter what type of fracking that was going on to obtain gas from wells in and around Le Roy High school, a spill is documented to have occurred on school grounds-  strangely, a month and a half before the first  girl started exhibiting Tourette-like symptoms."

[markpkessinger]

77. That's a bit like saying, "My Dog barked, and then it rained. . . "

". . . and therefore, I believe my dog caused it to rain."

There is no reason to simply assume that two events that occur in close proximity to each other are even in any way related, let alone that one is causative of another.

[onlyadream]

87. Really????

A spill was on school grounds, one month before the first reported incident, and you won't entertain linking the two?

[MorningGlow]

52. Not true

Nurse practitioner Marge Fitzsimmons, who has spent her whole life in LeRoy, N.Y., lives just a few miles from the school the teens attend.

“It started out with sudden head jerks in the middle of October,” Fitzsimmons told NBC News, the tics occasionally interfering with her ability to talk.

It got so bad she had to leave her job working with developmentally disabled patients until the tics subside.

http://dailynightly.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/02/10302534-mystery-teen-illness-grows-in-upstate-ny-more-cases-reported?chromedomain=usnews

[provis99]

58. then you just contradicted you first post.

which said that "now" a 30 year old had the symptoms. Last year is not "now".

[MorningGlow]

63. Oh fer chrissakes

Last edited Sat Feb 11, 2012, 10:07 AM - Edit history (1)

Keep parsing words; it'll keep you busy while this whole situation goes straight to hell. Mazel.

And this just proves that you don't know anything about the case. Do some more reading before you come into a thread acting like you know what's what.

[provis99]

84. you are ignorant of the facts, so you are now on ignore.

[MorningGlow]

88. LOL

[KT2000]

82. No - the nurse practioner

had it before the others.

[rocktivity]

50. Well, if it's due to fracking chemical spill, then OF COURSE it's not environmental!

IT'S DUE TO THE FRACKING CHEMICAL SPILL! And if they're not permitting soil samples, they ought to be arrested!


rocktivity

[thesquanderer]

70. That doesn't make sense

re: "Environmental causes of symptoms don't work that way. They don't affect just one gender or just one age group. If anything, any environmental cause would have more likely affected young children, before it affected teens"

How can you say environmental causes don't distinguish by age, and then say "if anything, it would have affected younger kids," meaning you *do* think that age can be a factor?

Indeed, there are many things that children and adolescents are more susceptible too... and the school was LeRoy Junior-Senior High School which means there would not have been younger children there, so the adolescents are as young as they get.

(BTW, there are also conditions that can be *specific* to adolescence, and not nearly as common to either younger or older ages. Acne!)

I'm not a doctor, but I would not assume that an environmental exposure could not tend to affect one gender more than the other, as there are (duh!) biological differences between the genders. We also don't know the gender make up of the school. Or whether, for example, the area of the athletic field with the leak might have been an area more used by the girls' phys ed classes.

[AnnieBW]

49. But... but... fracking is 100% safe!

That's what the man on the TeeVee says! Those girls are all just acting out to get attention!

[Bluenorthwest]

51. Just found this news from today, fear of syndrome cancels games in LeRoy

I'm fond of that area....
http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/local/fear-of-leroy-syndrome-cancels-event

[rocktivity]

55. More than a dozen girls in LeRoy...have officially been diagnosed with "conversion disorder."

While the state says that disorder was not caused by environmental factors or infections, no one can say for certain what is causing the uncontrollable symptoms.

They need to evacuate that place -- the school is a mini Chernoybl!


rocktivity

[Liquorice]

60. Conversion disorder is a psychiatric disorder, and I really

do believe that's what the girls have. IMO It's not sensible to believe that only teenage girls would be sickened by a toxin or poison. It's not possible. Other people besides just teenage girls would be experiencing the same symptoms if it was environmental.

And teenage girls are the most likely group to exhibit "mass hysteria" (I do wish they had a different term for it), and that's exactly what I think is happening here. One of the girls even said that her symptoms became much worse when she was around her friend, who was also experiencing the same tics. I don't think the girls are faking it. I think they have conversion disorder, which will resolve once they get psychiatric treatment. Treating it as a mystery physical illness is going to cause them more harm than good.

[rocktivity]

79. Here's a doc who thinks it's caused by a virus

...New Jersey neurologist Dr. Rosario Trifiletti suspects that the real root cause could be something called PANDAS, TIME reported, an infection that the girls he's seen are now being treated for with antibiotics.

PANDAS, or pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections, is characterized by a sudden onset of symptoms -- including obsessive behavior, vocal or motor tics and having compulsions -- that happens seemingly overnight, according to the National Institute of Mental Health...

Trifiletti announced his diagnosis on HLN's Dr. Drew show. The doctor had analyzed the lab data on eight of nine girls he saw while in LeRoy in January. "I can tell you that they are testing positive for, each one is testing positive either for streptococcas or mycoplasma, which are known triggers of the PANDAS/ PANS Syndrome," WGRZ reported Trifiletti as saying...
(link)

That makes a lot more sense than "mass hysteria," as you say, and would explain while mostly young teen girls are getting it. Is it possible that a chemical from the spill could be triggering the syndrome?


rocktivity

[barbtries]

53. my gawd.

thank you for sharing. i read something about this the other day and thought there might be a connection.

[McCamy Taylor]

61. Have they considered Sydenham's chorea, a post strep movement disorder?

Here is a link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydenham's_chorea

Sydenham's chorea or chorea minor (historically referred to as Saint Vitus Dance)[1] is a disease characterized by rapid, uncoordinated jerking movements affecting primarily the face, feet and hands. Sydenham's chorea (SC) results from childhood infection with Group A beta-hemolytic Streptococci[2] and is reported to occur in 20-30% of patients with acute rheumatic fever (ARF). The disease is usually latent, occurring up to 6 months after the acute infection, but may occasionally be the presenting symptom of rheumatic fever. Sydenham's Chorea is more common in females than males and most patients are children, below 18 years of age. Adult onset of Sydenham's Chorea is comparatively rare and most of the adult cases are associated with exacerbation of chorea following childhood Sydenham's Chorea.

I am a family physician. Strep is extremely common in our public schools right now.

Have they done ASO titers on the kids?

[rocktivity]

85. Another vote for a viral cause!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002294534#post79


rocktivity

[McCamy Taylor]

90. Actually, a bacterial cause. There is so much strep in US schools that one fall, every school age

child I saw in my office for any complaint had strep. The headaches had strep. The stomach pains had strep. The rashes had strep (scarlet fever). The coughs had strep. The fevers had strep. The swollen joints had strep (rheumatic fever). If the kid was between 5 and 12, and was "sick" he or she had strep or one of its complications.

Chorea would occur months after the acute strep infection, so the child would not have a sore throat any longer, but an ASO titer of the blood might still be positive.

[newfie11]

65. Mass hysteria is a catch all for something no one can figure out

Just like the link below was called mass hysteria. I am NOT saying or implying the government had anything to do with Leroy. Just as sample of how easy it is to blame mass hysteria when no immediate answer is available. It does make you wonder about Fracking.


http://scienceblogs.com/primatediaries/2010/03/cia_experimented_with_lsd_on_u.php

[tomp]

68. wrong!

mass hysteria is real. there is no telling at this point if that is what's going on here, but it could be.

[newfie11]

74. and it may not be

I am afraid this will be the easy out conclusion for gas companies

[tomp]

91. yeah, but if it IS mass hysteria...

...then it's not the gas company's fault.

there are plenty of real problems we can blame them for.

[NeoGreen]

69. This maybe of relevance...

I live in Genesee County, NY, the same county where the village of LeRoy is located, my property is part of a group of properties that receive royalties from an existing gas well (I receive on the order of $40/year). My well was drilled into the Medina gas unit between June and July 1986 with a total depth of 1,737 feet below ground surface (bgs)

I have a master degree in geology (albeit specializing in environmental and groundwater geology and not in oil and gas).

All of this leads me to presume I have a basic understanding of the principles involved.

Now for background data on the wells in question at LeRoy you can go to the NYSDEC website and map the existing regulated gas wells, here:

http://www.dec.ny.gov/imsmaps/minerals/viewer.htm

Given that the school is located at 9300 S Street Rd, Le Roy, NY, the closest active gas well is ID#21344 (named ‘Fee #3). Well #21344 was drilled between November and Dec 1991 to a total depth of 1,426 feet bgs, and is almost certainly not a well ‘Fracked’ by the current method which uses an unknown mixture of highly toxic chemicals. The producing geologic unit is the Medina, which is above the Queenston Shale and significantly (both in physical distance and geologically) above the Marcellus Shale.

The other nearby wells are:

#26138) (Fee #7) data not provided.
#15992 (Fee #2) completed in June 1981 with a TD 1,360 feet bgs, in the Medina,
#21389 (Fee #4) completed in Dec 1991 with a TD of 1,404 feet bgs in the Medina,
#26701 (Fee #5) completed in Aug 2008 with a TD of 1,477 feet bgs in the Medina,
#26702 (Fee #6) completed in Sept 2008 with a TD of 1,480 feet bgs in the Medina.

The curious thing, according to the NYSDEC website, the listed “owner” of all these wells is the “Leroy Central School District”. Do they have a vested interest in not investigating the wells a potential source of contaminants? Good question.

The latest wells (Fee#5, Fee#6 and presumably Fee#7) were installed after the “Cheney Exemption” of 2005 and appear to be up gradient (by surface topography) of the school. From an environmental fate and transport viewpoint, assuming ’frack’ chemicals maybe involved, this is noteworthy. If I were attempting to rule out and environmental link, I would start by investigating these three wells.

I hope this basic information proves to be helpful in the discussion.

[NeoGreen]

72. Followup...

A search of the NYSDEC Spill Databse (http://www.dec.ny.gov/cfmx/extapps/derexternal/index.cfm?pageid=2)

provides the following:
Spill Number Date Spill Reported County City/Town Address
1103544 6/29/2011 GENESEE LE ROY 8700 VALLANCE ROAD
1008611 11/16/2010 GENESEE LE ROY 8140 VALLANCE RD
900511 4/14/2009 GENESEE LE ROY 7149 WEST MAIN ST
906918 9/18/2009 GENESEE LE ROY 18 GENEESE ST
909144 11/15/2009 GENESEE LE ROY MILE MARKER 375.8 EAST BOUND
850155 5/6/2008 GENESEE LE ROY 100 WEST MAIN STREET
708221 10/26/2007 GENESEE LE ROY 13 LAKE STREET
650729 7/24/2006 GENESEE LE ROY 135 GILBERT STREET

While not necessarily comprehensive, it does not list a spill on South Street Road when searching back to 2006. There were no spills reported for 2005.

[WillyT]

71. K & R !!!

:kick:

[Highway61]

73. This is terrible

Remember when we had REAL investigative reporting?

[TheKentuckian]

75. Ahhh...Your befuddelment is rooted in vestigal belief that the news

is in any way a neutral observer and reporter of fact rather than corporate distraction and propaganda.

You think they are going to attack a profit center like that? The are working to bury and discredit these types of concerns, if they cannot ignore and/or mock them.

[markpkessinger]

76. Perhaps because correlation does not necessarily imply causation?

The fact is there has been a diagnosis -- of a kind psychological disorder known to affect social groups, known as a "conversion disorder."

I'm no fan of fracking, and I think there are myriad reasons citizens should be taking issue with it, but unless there is some documented evidence of natural gas, or any of the various chemicals related to fracking, causing this kind of disorder, or indeed of ANY environmental agent causing this kind of disorder, then these parents are setting themselves up for (ironically enough) the same kind of group hysteria that led people to believe the "vaccines cause autism" theory, which has now been thoroughly debunked. Even if some specific agent could be found, then you would have to answer the question of why it only affected this particular group of girls and no one else at the school.

Sounds to me like the parents simply don't want to hear a diagnosis that sounds vaguely like it might have a psychological component.

And as for it not being in the news, here's a story that appeared in USA Today about a week ago: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-02-04/tourette-teen-mystery/52961882/1?fb_comment_id=fbc_10150525661236301_20433353_10150529201506301#f20a33633124646

[rocktivity]

80. It might have viral component

Last edited Sat Feb 11, 2012, 05:17 PM - Edit history (2)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002294534#post79

And maybe the reason why the parents are upset by the psychiatric component is that it could be a corporate weapon of mass distraction. It turns out that they weren't informed about the fracking spill -- what else is being concealed?


rocktivity

[becausepeoplematter]

78. why weren't fracking fluid spills on school property reported to the community?

It's easy to blame teen girls’ health problems on hysteria - until it happens to you, or your own daughter. If a dozen middle aged men suddenly started showing strange neurological behaviors, how many people would say it was psychological? The immediate assumption would be that they'd been poisoned in some way - eaten the same thing, been in the same room, somehow been exposed to the same environmental risk.

There are six gas wells on the LeRoy school grounds. According to permit documents, those are shale gas wells. A CNN report last week said there were two reported spills on school grounds not long before the girls started showing symptoms. Unless those spills were mitigated, and clearly they weren't, those toxic fluids are still in the ground, near playing fields and areas where students sit, play, walk.

Why is this information being withheld? The major shale gas companies have admitted to employing military psych-ops to control the flow of information and contain public opinion. Once people begin to understand how deadly those fracking fluids are, and how impossible to get them out of our water once they’re there, the outcry will force a complete ban on shale gas drilling.

Penn Environment just released a report documenting that out of 4,596 Marcellus Shale wells drilled in PA between 2008 and 2011, gas operators accumulated 3,355 violations of environmental laws. Those are reported violations. How many spills, deliberate leaks, "accidental dumpings" of fracking fluid have taken place since the drilling started? Where? When? We have no way of knowing - and the fines are currently so low that the gas companies are apparently finding it less expensive to risk fines than to make sure fluids are handled safely and responsibly.

And yes, nerve damage has been reported in areas with shale gas drilling. Given the toxic cocktails of unreported chemicals, any kind of nerve damage or other physical reaction would be possible after exposure to a fracking fluid spill

Anyone who withholds or conceals information about shale gas violations, spills, or leaks should be found guilty of public endangerment and should serve time. And any corporation with repeat safety violations should lose the right to drill and should have its wells impounded.

[underpants]

83. Good for Dr. Drew

+

[HarveyDarkey]

86. I stopped reading at

"Holistic Remedies News corespondent"