trial set in suit over 7 cancer cases

Families of seven children, whose parents say it is cancer victims due to industrial pollution of drinking water, are suing two major companies, they are required to compensate for the losses in the case that will be heard in the Boston Federal District Court on Monday.
The case brought seven families to W. R.
Grace & Company and Beatrice Foods are seeking compensation and punitive damages.
Five children named in the lawsuit died of leukemia.
Counsel for the plaintiffs did not announce the amount they were seeking, but Walter J ·
Skinner, the judge in charge of the case, said the potential jury verdict was \"astronomical \". \'\'W. R.
Grace insists that its activities do no harm to the family.
The company declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Experts say the case will make the court a forum for national debate on the exact understanding of the causes of cancer.
The case also represents one of a few cases in which a small group of private citizens can raise the necessary resources to bring a major environmental struggle to court.
The parties hired approximately 40 chemists, oncologists, water medalists and other experts to testify as expert witnesses.
The plaintiffs included 30 members of seven families who charged drinking water in two cities
Self-owned wells that provide local water supply parts are contaminated by chemicals in the company\'s production operations, resulting in cancer and other diseases in their families, such as liver diseases and central nervous system diseases.
The plaintiff received a settlement of $1 million from unifiirst, an industrial dry goods company.
The cleaning business, originally included in the suit, is using the money to continue their case.
There are 19 cases of childhood leukemia from 1969 to 1985 in the health of the warivo advisory group in Massachusetts.
The panel says six cases are normal.
Most of the children affected live in east Woburn, where two wells serve, a few blocks from each other.
However, a consultation group of 12 scientists from all over the country did not end up stating that drinking water caused leukemia in children.
A study by the National Public Health Department concluded that \"the increase in the incidence of leukemia is related to environmental hazards, particularly pollution from the supply of drinking water, and the results of the study are neither supported nor refuted.
\"A study by the Harvard School of Public Health found that there was a correlation between the water of the two wells and the disease of the residents of Woburn, but its epidemiology method was challenged by some scientific authorities.
Life with FactoriesWoburn, Hillside, work
A class town of ordinary wooden houses and small ranch houses 12 miles northwest of Boston, has been the center of small manufacturers since the middle
In the 19th century, 35,000 of its residents were used to sidewaysby-
Stand with the factory that provides livelihood. W. R.
The Cryovac divison of Grace who makes food packaging equipment is red
Brick houses, piles and pipes stretch out from the ground marking test wells to mine soil and groundwater samples as a result of the proceedings.
The other plant in the suit is John J ·
From 1978 to 1983, the corrugated steel building in the pile hiding proved its function.
The plaintiff claimed that the chemicals from the two factories had entered the city\'s water supply system.
Among the chemicals cited, vinyl chloride and vinyl chloride are the main ones, and the industry specifies vinyl chloride and vinyl chloride.
In order to win the lawsuit, the plaintiff must first determine that these companies are responsible for chemicals entering the water supply system, and secondly, that these chemicals are the cause of cancer and disease for family members, experts said. W. R.
Grace\'s positionR.
Grace, based in New York City, said in a statement: \"We firmly believe that Cryovac is at 25-
The Annual History of the plant did not cause any health effects claimed by the plaintiff.
There is no scientific evidence that TCE and/or PCE may cause any of these health effects at the exposure levels of wells G and H.
\"Wells G and H designated by the city are open in the middle
On 1960s, the water was closed on 1979 after the test showed that it was contaminated.
Grace officials also believe that if Woburn\'s water is contaminated, other manufacturers in the city may do so and Grace is picked out because it is a \"good --
Well-known companies with strong financial resources.
\"The Chicago-based country food company said it would not discuss the case.
Grace also faces an investigation by a federal grand jury in Boston into its Cryovac plant.
News reports said the investigation was related to Grace\'s conflicting statement to the federal Environmental Protection Agency at different times about the use and disposal of Woburn chemicals.
\"Our first report was submitted within a deadline of about 11 days,\" said Fred Boehner, vice president of communications at Grace . \".
11 months later, we took the initiative to revise the report.
If, in this case, you think we\'re lying, it\'s not reasonable.