Grace Bumstead

When my daughter Grace Ellen was four years old she was diagnosed with a very rare form of leukemia. I thought that our family had the worst, most devastating luck. But after spending months in the hospital with her, we learned that she was one of over 50 children in our community who may have been poisoned by one of the worst nuclear meltdowns in America, the Santa Susana Field Lab. We had no idea we were living within miles of the toxic site that had been kept quiet by the Californian government for 60 years. Most community members believed it was an urban legend. But after working with epidemiologist, statisticians, scientists and other experts, we learned of a independent study that showed a 60% higher cancer incidence rate for residents living within two miles of the site. We also learned through the Breast Cancer Mapping Project that our community had a 10-20% higher invasive breast cancer rate compared to most of California. Unfortunately I was told that a pediatric cancer study was impossible. I have hope that the Reason Why Us will provide my community with concrete evidence that we can take to the California Department of Toxic Substances Control and show them how their leniency with the cleanup is hurting our children. Already we’ve buried six children whose cancer stole their lives. We can’t afford to lose any more.