Toms River A Story of Science & Salvation

The true story of a small town ravaged by industrial pollution, Toms River won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize and has been hailed by The New York Times as andquot;a new classic of science reporting.andquot; Now available in paperback with a new afterword by acclaimed author Dan Fagin, the book masterfully blends hard-hitting investigative journalism, scientific discovery, and unforgettable characters.

One of New Jerseyandrsquo;s seemingly innumerable quiet seaside towns, Toms River became the unlikely setting for a decades-long drama that culminated in 2001 with one of the largest environmental legal settlements in history. For years, large chemical companies had been using Toms River as their private dumping ground, burying tens of thousands of leaky drums in open pits and discharging billions of gallons of acid-laced wastewater into the townandrsquo;s namesake river. The result was a notorious cluster of childhood cancers scientifically linked to local air and water pollution.

Fagin recounts the sixty-year saga of rampant pollution and inadequate oversight that made Toms River a cautionary tale. He brings to life the pioneering scientists and physicians who first identified pollutants as a cause of cancer and the everyday people in Toms River who struggled for justice: a young boy whose cherubic smile belied the fast-growing tumors that had decimated his body from birth; a nurse who fought to bring the alarming incidence of childhood cancers to the attention of authorities who didnandrsquo;t want to listen; and a mother whose love for her stricken child transformed her into a tenacious advocate for change.

Rooted in a centuries-old scientific quest, Toms River is an epic of dumpers at midnight and deceptions in broad daylight, of corporate avarice and government neglect, and of a few brave individuals who refused to keep silent until the truth was exposed.

andquot;Dan Faginand#39;s narrative of the arrival and explosive growth of a chemical plant in New Jersey in the 1950sand#160;weaves a complex tale of powerful industry, local politics, water rights, epidemiology, public health and cancer in a gripping, page-turning environmental thriller.andquot;

andquot;Immaculate research . . . unstoppable reading . . . Faginand#39;s book may not endear him to Toms Riverand#39;s real estate agents, but its exhaustive reporting and honest look at the cause, obstacles, and unraveling of a cancerous trail should berequired environmental reading.andquot;

andquot;Faginand#39;s meticulously researched and compellingly recounted story of Toms River families struggling to find out what was causing the cancers that claimed their children belongs on the shelf with other environmental/medical mysteries. Itand#39;s every bit as importantandmdash;and as well-writtenandmdash; asand#160;A Civil Action andand#160;The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.andquot;

"Absorbing and thoughtful."

andquot;A thrilling journey through the twists and turns of cancer epidemiology, Toms River is essential reading for our times. Dan Fagin handles topics of great complexity with the dexterity of a scholar, the honesty of a journalist, and the dramatic skill of a novelist.andquot;

andquot;This hard-hitting account of cancer epidemiology in the New Jersey town of Toms River is a triumph.andquot;

"In an account equal parts sociology, epidemiology, and detective novel, veteran environmental journalist Dan Fagin chronicles the ordeal of this quiet coastal town, which for decades was a dumping ground for chemical manufacturers. Fagin's compelling book raises broader questions about what communities are willing to sacrifice in the name of economic development."

andquot;Toms River is an epic tale for our chemical age. Dan Fagin has combined deep reporting with masterful storytelling to recount an extraordinary battle over cancer and pollution in a New Jersey town. Along the wayandmdash;as we meet chemists, businessmen, doctors, criminals, and outraged citizensandmdash;we see how Toms River is actually a microcosm of a world that has come to depend on chemicals without quite comprehending what they might do to our health.andquot;

"At once intimate and objective, Toms River is the heartbreaking account of one town's struggle with a legacy of toxic pollution. Dan Fagin has written a powerful and important book."

andquot;Itand#39;s high time a book did for epidemiology what Jon Krakauerand#39;s best-selling Into Thin Air did for mountain climbing: transform a long sequence of painfully plodding steps and missteps into a narrative of such irresistible momentum that the reader not only understands what propels enthusiasts forward, but begins to strain forward as well, racing through the pages to get to the heady views at the end. And such is the power of Dan Faginand#39;s Toms River, surely a new classic of science reporting. . . a sober story of probability and compromise, laid out with the care and precision that characterizes both good science and great journalism.andquot;

andquot;This book stood out for its superb combination of compelling narrative and for its explanations of science and history....This thought-provoking work speaks to how the tragic tale of Toms River can happenandmdash;and is happeningandmdash;other places.andquot;

andquot;Powerful, in-depth reporting that informs the public, shapes policy, and changes the world.andquot;

andquot;Masterful portrayal of the scientific process at work in a town facing environmental crisis.andquot;

andquot;A crisp, hard-nosed probe into corporate arrogance and the power of public resistance makes this environmental caper essential reading.andquot;

andquot;Waterborne destruction has visited Toms River before, albeit via less conspicuous channels, which Dan Fagin traces with marvelous precision in his new book,and#160;Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation.andquot;

andquot;Deeply and thoroughly researched, itand#39;s a gripping, beautifully told, and thought-provoking account of a human tragedy. It also presents a fine history of a number of science and health-related topics that bear directly on the story that unfolds in the Toms River. Fagin is a gifted storyteller.andquot;and#160;

andquot;Toms Riverand#160;is absolutely riveting. I couldnand#39;t put it down. Dan Fagin has crafted a book about the consequences of industrial pollution that reads like a murder mystery. Read this book and the next time someone complains about too many environmental regulations youand#39;ll have clear answers for why government oversight of industrial waste production and disposal is so important.andquot;

andquot;Deftly combines investigative reporting and historical research to probe a New Jersey seashore townand#39;s cluster of childhood cancers linked to water and air pollution.andquot;

andquot;Itandrsquo;s a sure bet to keep you engrossed the whole way through. Itandrsquo;s got to be the best nonfiction book Iandrsquo;ve read since andldquo;A Civil Actionandrdquo; (1995).andquot;

andquot;...richly informative...andquot;

andquot;Absorbing and thoughtful.andquot;

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE - Winner of The New York Public Library's Helen Bernstein Book Award
A new classic of science reporting."--The New York Times

The true story of a small town ravaged by industrial pollution, Toms River won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize and has been hailed by The New York Times as "a new classic of science reporting." Now available in paperback with a new afterword by acclaimed author Dan Fagin, the book masterfully blends hard-hitting investigative journalism, scientific discovery, and unforgettable characters.

One of New Jersey's seemingly innumerable quiet seaside towns, Toms River became the unlikely setting for a decades-long drama that culminated in 2001 with one of the largest environmental legal settlements in history. For years, large chemical companies had been using Toms River as their private dumping ground, burying tens of thousands of leaky drums in open pits and discharging billions of gallons of acid-laced wastewater into the town's namesake river. The result was a notorious cluster of childhood cancers scientifically linked to local air and water pollution.

Fagin recounts the sixty-year saga of rampant pollution and inadequate oversight that made Toms River a cautionary tale. He brings to life the pioneering scientists and physicians who first identified pollutants as a cause of cancer and the everyday people in Toms River who struggled for justice: a young boy whose cherubic smile belied the fast-growing tumors that had decimated his body from birth; a nurse who fought to bring the alarming incidence of childhood cancers to the attention of authorities who didn't want to listen; and a mother whose love for her stricken child transformed her into a tenacious advocate for change.

Rooted in a centuries-old scientific quest, Toms River is an epic of dumpers at midnight and deceptions in broad daylight, of corporate avarice and government neglect, and of a few brave individuals who refused to keep silent until the truth was exposed.

The true story of a small town ravaged by industrial pollution, Toms River has been hailed by The New York Times as “a new classic of science reporting.” Now available in paperback with a new afterword by award-winning author Dan Fagin, the book masterfully blends hard-hitting investigative journalism, scientific discovery, and unforgettable characters.

One of New Jerseys seemingly innumerable quiet seaside towns, Toms River became the unlikely setting for a decades-long drama that culminated in 2001 with one of the largest environmental legal settlements in history. For years, large chemical companies had been using Toms River as their private dumping ground, burying tens of thousands of leaky drums in open pits and discharging billions of gallons of acid-laced wastewater into the towns namesake river. The result was a notorious cluster of childhood cancers scientifically linked to local air and water pollution.

Rooted in a centuries-old scientific quest, Toms River is an epic of dumpers at midnight and deceptions in broad daylight, of corporate avarice and government neglect, and of a few brave individuals who refused to keep silent until the truth was exposed.

A science journalism professor at New York University, Dan Fagin is a nationally prominent journalist on environmental health topics. He has twice been a principal member of reporting teams that were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize, and has won both of the best-known science journalism prizes in the United States, from the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Association of Science Writers. His work has been recently published in Nature, The New York Times, Scientific American, Slate and New Scientist and he is the author of Toxic Deception. At NYU, Fagin is an associate professor of journalism and the director of the masters-level Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program (SHERP).

Prologue: Marking Time

and#160;

PART I. The Ice Cream Factory

Chapter 1. Pirates

Chapter 2. Insensible Things

Chapter 3. First Fingerprints

Chapter 4. Secrets

Chapter 5. Sharkey and Columbo at the Rustic Acres

Chapter 6. Cells

Chapter 7. On Cardinal Drive

and#160;

PART II. Breach

Chapter 8. Water and Salt

Chapter 9. Hippies in the Kitchen

Chapter 10. The Coloring Contest

Chapter 11. Cases

Chapter 12. Acceptable Risks

Chapter 13. Friends and Neighbors

and#160;

PART III. Counting

Chapter 14. Two Wards, Two Hits

Chapter 15. Cluster Busting

Chapter 16. Moving On

Chapter 17. Invisible Trauma

Chapter 18. A Cork in the Ocean

Chapter 19. Expectations

and#160;

PART IV. Causes

Chapter 20. Outsiders

Chapter 21. Surrogacy

Chapter 22. Blood Work

Chapter 23. Associations

Chapter 24. Legacies

and#160;

Afterword

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Notes

About the Author